Spinach Turnovers

Spinach Turnovers

I'm constantly trying to get Daniele to eat more vegetables – with little success. My latest effort was these spinach turnovers. They started out purportedly for him to take to a Thanksgiving potluck at school. Then I discovered I didn't have the right kind of cheese. I also apparently cross-pollinated that idea with something from the Silver Palate 25^th anniversary cookbook that called for rosemary, ricotta and prosciutto as a filling for filo dough. What eventually turned out was this:

A savory spinach with sauteed onions, garlic and shroom, planted neatly on a blob of ricotta and egg mixture, and baked to golden crispy perfection. Here's how I did it.

Heat a cast iron pan over medium high heat and add a tablespoon each of olive oil and butter. Saute the onion until soft and translucent. Add mushrooms and continue to saute until they are golden. Add garlic and stir in a thawed and drained 10 ounce package of spinach. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup of ricotta and an egg. Cut 2 sheets of thawed puff pastry each into 4 squares. On each square of pastry, place a heaping tablespoon of the ricotta mixture, and 1\8th of the spinach filling. Fold pastry over filling to form a triangle and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Spaghetti with Salmon and Spinach

This is my variation on a recipe from Salon's recipe challenge The best recipes from your mothers.

Sueinaz wrote a charming story about cooking with her crotchety grandmother. I thought the recipe sounded fantastic, but my honey doesn't like shellfish of any stripe or spinach. I planned on using the spinach anyway, since I knew it would ne nothing like the spinach his (and my mother) used to make. It would be bright green and attractive. Unlike Sue's recipe, however, I used a bag of fresh baby spinach and therefore did not have to bother squeezing the water out. I just stemmed it and put it in the bottom of the colander. Worked like a charm.

This dish was easy, elegant, delicious and fairly healthy. It doesn't get any better than that, kids!

Spaghetti with Salmon and Spinach

8 oz spaghetti
1 lb skinned salmon fillet, cut into 4 portions
1 10 oz bag fresh baby spinach, stemmed (of course, if you love stems, leave 'em on. I don't)
1\2 c buttter (but realistically, you could get away with using half and I bet it would still be fantastic)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1\2 roasted red peppers, chopped
1\4 c white wine
1\4 chopped flat leaf parsley (basil would also work well)
salt and pepper

Heat a large port of salted water for pasta and add pasta when it boils. While the water heats, melt butter in a skillet. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and continue to cook another minute or so. Season salmon with salt and pepper on each side. Add salmon fillets to pan and cook 3 or so minutes on each side. Set aside. Place stemmed spinach in the bottom of a colander. When pasta is al dente drain over the spinach. Remove to a large serving dish and add lemon juice and zest and stir to combine. Add peppers.

To serve, place pasta mixture on a dish and place a fillet on top. Sprinkle a bit of the chopped parsley for garnish.