All Greek all the time. That's sometimes how it feels at my house. My husband is 3/4 Greek and his heritage is very, very important to him. I'm sure you've seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding...well, that's literally how it is sometimes. I'm not kidding.
The good thing is the Greeks have bomb food and surprisingly a lot of vegetarian options which is great for me. This dish, spanakorizo, is one of my favorites. I don't know if my recipe is completely authentic because I added olives, garlic and shallots which Athan told me is not how it's usually made, but I think it gives it a little extra kick of flavor. Also, we make it with brown rice instead of traditional white rice.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup of brown rice
- 1 can of tomato sauce
- 1 bunch of spinach
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 shallots
- kalamata olives
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- feta cheese
- greek yogurt
Directions:
- First you will need to prepare the brown rice. Take a big pot and add the brown rice and water. One part brown rice to two parts water. Put the lid on the pot and turn the heat on high. Once the water comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and leave the top on. It should take around 40 minutes to cook, but you will have to keep an eye on it and taste it to see if it's done. It should still have a bite to it, like when pasta is cooked to al dente. You may have to strain it if there is extra water.
- While the rice is cooking mince the garlic and slice the shallots. Add to a large pan (will be used for the rice as well) and saute until soft.
- Once the rice is done, strain out any extra water and add to the pan with the garlic and shallots.
- Add the entire can of tomato sauce to the rice and mix. Let the rice and sauce cook together on low heat.
- Add a drizzle of olive oil, the olives and salt & pepper to taste.
- I used an entire bunch of spinach for this dish because it reduces so much. Clean and tear the leafs off the stems. Add all the spinach and place the top on the pot while the spinach cooks.
- Once the spinach is cooked mix it with the rice.
- Place in a bowl. You can eat it plain, but I love to add feta and greek yogurt to it...so good! I highly recommend it.
That's it. It's a pretty simple dish, it just takes some times. But it's so worth it. Enjoy!
xoxo...Kate
