TRADITIONAL GREEK ‘SPANAKORIZO’ RECIPE
Spanakorizo is a traditional Greek vegetarian dish made with spinach and rice. The Greek word spanakorizo is made up of the two ingredients, with spanaki meaning spinach and rizi meaning rice. It is traditionally served with feta cheese and bread and prepared with or without eggs. Growing up, this Greek recipe was a staple in our home. My mom would make it often and accompany it with a small cheese pie called Tiropitaki. Although, you would think that kids would hate it because of the spinach, but it was one of my favorite foods growing up.
Like many traditional Greek recipes, Spanakorizo is classic comfort food. It’s one of the most delicious and classic dishes to make. Did I mention its health benefits?
Health Benefits of Traditional Greek Ingredients
Spanakorizo has many benefits to our health, mostly due to the nutrients and flavonoids of spinach and the monounsaturated acids and other polyphenols of pure olive oil. They have the ability to prevent cardiovascular diseases, strokes and various types of cancers. Spinach also provides us with essential amounts of vitamins A, C and K as well as calcium and magnesium. Iron in spinach is not absorbed as easily, so you can better strengthen the absorption of iron with another source of vitamin C, that is why we add lemon juice to this dish. Additionally oxalates, or oxalic acid, a chemical compound contained mostly in raw spinach, may prevent your body from absorbing essential nutrients. So always boil your spinach to minimize the amount of oxalates by 30-80%!
Finally, don’t forget that it’s healthier to include natural Greek sea salt to your diet instead of table salt. Plus, if you want to ensure your Greek recipe tastes authentic, it’s best to use traditional Greek foods!
Spanakorizo: A Traditional Greek Recipe
Ingredients
1 ½ kg fresh (or frozen) spinach
1 cup rice
2-3 onions
1 bunch of spring onions
1 bunch of fresh dill
5-6 whole eggs (optional)
Fresh juice from 1-2 large lemons
Kardamas Greek sea salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Directions
Spanakorizo very healthy dish but if we buy fresh spinach and keep it in the fridge for a few days, it will lose most of its nutrients, so some prefer to use it frozen. We prefer fresh spinach, because we know where it comes from and how long until it reached our local farmer’s market.
To prepare the spinach, you’ll need to rinse it under cold water to remove any dirt and impurities. Strain or pat it dry with a paper towel and put it aside while you prepare the rice. Once the rice is ready, you’ll need to rinse 2-3 times in cold water to remove bleach and/or bugs. Then prepare the rest of the ingredients by fine-chopping them. Once everything is chopped, then the actual cooking begins!
In a large cooking pot, add half cup of Kardamas Greek extra virgin olive oil and onions, fresh onions and half of the fresh dill bunch. Sauté until the onions have a nice golden color, then add the spinach and rice and stir for 2-3 minutes. Now you need to add the remainder of the olive oil, lemon juice and enough water to cover everything and boil for about 15 minutes.
Tip: Spinach is high in water content and will release extra water. Remember to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t turn into soup! If it’s too soupy, just turn up the heat to absorb the extra water.
Want to add the optional eggs? This is when you’ll add them! Break the eggs above the cooking pot, one egg each time, to cover most of the surface of the pot. Don’t break them all together in one single spot. Use both the egg whites and crocuses. Make sure they are cooked for 5-7 minutes. Then add pepper and sea salt to taste!
Once it’s ready, pull the pan off the stove and let it cool off. Right before you serve this traditional Greek dish, add the rest of the dill and enjoy!
That’s it! Now you know how to make traditional Greek Spanakorizo exactly the way Greek moms do. It’s easy, yummy and good for you! The beauty of the Mediterranean diet is about getting your health benefits while enjoying a simple, home-cooked meal. So I hope you’ll enjoy this delicious recipe as much as my family does!