Superfood in the spotlight: Spinach

Vibrant, green and crunchy spinach leaves are packed full of vitamins and nutrients. Among the health promoting vitamins C, K and A are manganese, folate, magnesium and iron. Did you know that just a single cup of cooked spinach packs up to 12% of the recommended daily dose of calcium?

This richness in minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients (including flavonoids and carotenoids) helps protect the organism against inflammation and oxidation, promotes healthy bones, and can help prevent some types of cancer.

The best way to guarantee you get all the benefits is to eat them raw or with a fast, one-minute boil. This way you will keep the goodness intact. Try them in salads, soups or side-dishes.

We like this savory pastry from goodnessis.com and enjoy.

SPINACH RICE & TWO CHEESE PIE

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches of fresh spinach, finely chopped or 1 block of frozen leaf spinach
• ½ cup cooked brown rice (or basmati, if you prefer white)
• 125g feta, crumbled
• 125g strong cheddar, crumbled
• 4 eggs
• 1 tab. fresh dill, chopped (or 2 tspn dried)
• 1 tab. pine nuts (toasted, if prefer)
• ½ tspn nutmeg
• cracked black pepper
• sesame seeds (I use a mix of black and white)
• 6 sheets filo pastry
• oil/melted butter

Recipe:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Lightly grease an oven-proof dish with oil. Steam spinach and press out excess water. Let cool slightly, then add rice. Season with pepper. In a large bowl, combine all other ingredients together. Add spinach & rice mixture.

Line dish with the 6 sheets of filo, alternating each piece in different directions. Brush each with melted butter/oil if wish (or use an extra virgin cold pressed olive oil spray).

Pour in spinach & egg mixture and spread evenly. Tuck in filo edges and brush with oil/melted butter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until set and lightly brown on top.