Spinach Flatbread

These spinach flatbreads are super easy to make…they are soft pillowy and loaded with the goodness of spinach.

– How easy are to make these flatbreads?

Super easy, just mix, knead a little, let it rise, divide into small balls, flat the balls, and cook on the skillet. No secret at all.

– Why these spinach flatbreads are so good?

The texture of these flatbreads is super soft, pillowy, and so aromatic with all the spinach puree in it.

– How do you serve these flatbreads?

You can use them like sliced bread, tortilla, pizza crust…use your imagination. They are very versatile!

– Are you ready to try this recipe?

Ingredients:

200 g spinach leaves
150 g water
500 g AP flour
10 g yeast
10 g sugar
15 g olive oil

Method:

In a blender place the spinach leaves and water, blend until all the leaves are puréed.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl

Add oil and spinach puree, mix until a ball forms.

Cover the dough and rest until the dough double/triple its initial size.

Divide the dough into ten little balls.

Roll out each dough into a thin disk using a rolling pin.

Cook in a preheated skillet, medium-hot, for approximately 1 minute each side.

Keep the flatbreads warm by wrapping them in a kitchen towel until you are ready to serve.

Store the leftover in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Warm them up by wrapping up the flatbread with moist paper towel and reheating in the microwave.

– If you enjoy this simple recipe of spinach flatbread you might want to check on these…

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Homemade Spinach Pasta

This pasta recipe calls for lots of spinach…it is so tasty and pretty to look at. The pasta can served topped with any sauce you and your family like or just with your favorite cheese.

Let me make a confession, this is not my first pasta…I made egg pasta once before I attempted to make this spinach pasta. It was so much fun playing with the dough, passing the dough over and over again through the pasta machine. Cutting it using different settings that I forgot to take pictures…

I want this spinach pasta to be the “star” of this post, therefore, after I cooked I just served with a drizzle of olive oil and lots of shaved pecorino cheese…nothing fancy…

Since I made enough pasta for a big crowd, I froze them into small “nests” and already used most of it with different sauces.

Making pasta seems overwhelming, but in reality it is very simple. I did not buy the pasta attachment for the mixer…I decided to go for a manual one, to me it seems that I have more control over it than the one electrically powered.

Anyway, I am happy that I did get this pasta maker as recently I see many recipes that use pasta maker to roll bread dough…this will be my next experiment…

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh spinach leaves
200 g bread flour
200 g semolina
Pinch salt
2 eggs

Method:

Steam the spinach leaves for about 3 minutes, the leaves should still be bright green and softened. Let cool slightly. Squeeze out the liquid as much as you can. Puree spinach in a food processor.

Add the flours and salt and mix until well combined. Add the eggs in the food processor until the dough comes together.

Transfer dough to a well-floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes, adding little flour if dough is still too sticky. Cover the dough with plastic film and let it rest for 1 to 2 hours.

Cut dough into 4 pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keep the other pieces covered. Flatten the dough, dust lightly with flour and feed through the pasta machine at its widest setting. Fold lengthwise into thirds and pass through again. Repeat a couple of times.

Set the pasta machine to the thickness you desire and pass the dough a couple of times, dusting flour as needed. Plate the pasta sheet on the counter as you work with the other pieces.

Pass the pasta sheet on the machine using the cutting attachment. Dust with flour as needed to they strands do not stick.
At this point you can cook the pasta or let it dry slightly on the rack, about ½ hour. Or make small nest (portion) and freeze.

Once the little nest of pasta are frozen, store in a airtight container.

When cooking frozen pasta, just place it in a boiling water and proceed as usual.

If you like spinach, you might want to check on Spinach with Ponzu Sauce or Sautee Spinach recipes.

Did you know that spinach is very rich in iron? Moreover, spinach are a very good source of vitamin K, A and C.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

Spinach with Ponzu Sauce

I hope that all my friends in US are having a fun and safe Labor Day long weekend…

Have you ever bought the bag of spinach at Costco? Well, every time I buy it, I need to desperately use it, otherwise most of it will go to waste.

After sautéing, making salad, steaming…I found myself with still 1/3 of the bag…now, think, think, think…
That is when I came up with this very light, simple and yet tasty spinach with ponzu sauce topped with walnuts. It is good and the complexity of textures and flavors are amazing…

Ponzu sauce? Yes, ponzy sauce or ponzu soya is very common in Japanese cuisine. It is a pre made sauce that is mainly composed of soy sauce and citrus flavor. It tastes like a diluted soy sauce with lemon/lime.

Ingredients:

Bunch of spinach
Ponzu sauce to taste
Walnut
Sesame oil

Method:

In a big pot, place water to boil. Add the spinach and let it blanch for a few seconds. Drain the spinach and immediately emerge the spinach in ice water.

Drain the water well by squeezing the spinach in between your hands.

Place the spinach in the serving plate, drizzle with ponzu sauce, then sesame oil and top it with walnuts.
Serve immediately.

If you enjoy this simple and easy recipe using spinach, you might want to check on Sauté Spinach with Bacon or the Spinach Rice.

Did you know that spinach contains high levels of antioxidants and is a very rich source of iron? In spite of the high content of iron, spinach also contains oxalate, an absoption-inhibiting substance, which prevents the iron in the spinach to be absorbed by the body.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Tilapia with Fingerling Potatoes

As we all know, fish is good for our health, therefore I’ve been trying to make more dishes using fish. Unfortunately my husband is not a fish person…I take this back, he just likes halibut and now that I introduced him to other fish, he slowly, very slowly started to acquire the taste for it. Nevertheless, it is still a hard task for me, since one of the complaints is that they are too fishy…now, can you imagine fish smelling like meat or chicken? Then I sure would be very worried…

This is a very simple and yet fulfilling dish. It is totally gluten free and so tasty. We had a complete meal by combining 3 main ingredients: fish (protein), fingerling potatoes (carb) and spinach (veggie).

Ingredients:

2 tilapia filet
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter

12-16 fingerling potatoes
½ lb crimini mushroom, sliced
½ red onion, finely sliced
½ tablespoon dry parsley (or fresh if you have it handy)
½ tablespoon olive oil

1 bunch spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a medium pot, add water and a pinch of salt, let it boil and add the potatoes. Cook the potatoes for approximately 10 to 12 minutes or until the potatoes start to become slightly soft. Drain and place in a bowl. Add the mushroom, onion, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper to the potatoes. Toss gently and place in an oven safe tray. Place the potatoes with the mushroom in a 350F pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the tilapia and the spinach.

In a bowl pat dry the tilapia filet. Add garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Place the butter in a fry pan and add the tilapia. Pan fry both side evenly for approximately 5 minutes each side.

Sautée the spinach with olive oil, salt and pepper.

To assemble the plate, place the spinach in the center of the plate, layer the filet of tilapia gently on top of the spinach and place the fingerling potatoes around. Serve hot.

If you enjoy this healthy and simple tilapia recipe you might want to check on this Asian version of Steamed Tilapia or Tilapia with Fresh Basil from Simple Recipes.

Did you know that fingerling potatoes are fully mature potato? Due to its small size it is often confused with new potatoes.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Sautee Spinach, No Bacon

This is a easy way to prepare spinach…it is fast and believe me you end up eating lots and lots of spinach.
My mom usually prepares this dish without bacon, I decided to add a little more flavor to it…so bacon was added to this side dish 🙂

Ingredients:

1 bunch of spinach
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 strips of bacon cut in small pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Fry the bacon and remove the excess of fat. Add the chopped garlic and let it brown. Add the spinach (cut in approximately 2~2 ½ in) and sautee in high heat rapidly.

Do not over cook the spinach.

Serve hot.

Did you know that spinach contain a lot of iron? Since the iron in spinach and other vegetables and grains sources are not bound to heme its absoption are not very efficient, therefore to improve the iron absoption by the body the consumption of vitamin C or other binders are necessary. Heme binded iron are found in meat (blood).

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!

Spinach Rice

This is a very simple side dish with lots and lots of green…spinach!

Ingredients:

1 bunch spinach
1½ cups long grain rice
2 tablespoons onion finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese grated

Method:

Wash the spinach and boil in approximately 4 cups of water. Let it cook for 2 minutes. Drain the spinach and save the water from the spinach. Chop the spinach and set aside.

In a small pot add the olive oil and the onion, let the onion brown. Add the rice already washed and drained.

Saute the rice so it is covered with the olive oil. Add the chopped spinach and 2 ½ cups of the spinach liquid, salt and pepper. Bring the heat to high, once it starts to boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed by the rice.

Top with parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Did you know that spinach is a rich source of iron and calcium? Moreover, spinach contains more iron than meat and other vegetables. But the iron in spinach is poorly absorbed by the body unless eaten with vitamin C, which is not the case of the iron found in meat. Nevertheless, spinach still has a large nutritional value, it is a rich source of vitamins A, C, E, K, magnesium, and several antioxidants. In addition spinach is an excellent source of manganese, folate, vitamin B12, B6, calcium, potassium, fiber, copper, protein, phosphorous, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, niacin, and selenium. That explains why Popeye the Sailor Man loved spinach!