This bitter green leaf is a source of iron and vitamin A. Baby spinach has a milder flavour than larger leaves. Look for bright green leaves and crisp stems. Spinach cooks quickly and shrinks dramatically, so you often need more than you might think. For homemade gnocchi, stir blitzed spinach into mashed potato with enough flour to form a dough. Shape into small balls, then boil in batches until they rise to the top.
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COOK’S TIP The soup will keep for up to three days in the fridge but you might need to top up the stock as the spaghetti and veg will soak it up.
G RE E N M I N E S T RO N E W I T H S P I N AC H S AU C E Serves 4 Takes 40 mins Cost per serve £1.44 2 tsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves, sliced 50g spring onions, trimmed, halved and sliced ÉãÛ Ô »   »÷ « » ÷ Ûã« ¸Û  »÷ « 2 vegetable stock cubes, made up to 1.5ltr 100g spaghetti, snapped into short lengths 250g asparagus, trimmed 100g frozen peas £ ÷ ÛÔ«Â ¨ 400g tin butter beans, drained and rinsed 1 lemon, juiced £ ¢ Û¨ ã » ¢ Ô Û» ÷ É裨»÷ chopped ó £ ã « ¨ ¨ Û É ' è÷ grated, to serve (optional) For the spinach sauce £ »« »Éó  »÷ ¨ÉÔÔ £ ÷ ÛÔ«Â ¨ 30g vegetarian hard cheese or ' è÷ £ ã 50ml olive oil
1 Put the spinach sauce ingredients in a food processor. Season with pepper, then blitz to a rough paste. Set aside. 2 Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and fry the garlic and spring onions for 2 mins. Stir in the carrots and celery and cook for a further 5 mins, stirring regularly. Pour in the vegetable stock, increase the heat and bring to a simmer. Add the spaghetti and cook for 10 mins. 3 Meanwhile, slice the asparagus stems into 1cm rounds, leaving the tips whole. Add the asparagus and the peas to the pan and cook for 3 mins until just cooked through. 4 Stir through the spinach, butter beans, lemon juice and parsley. Season with black pepper and cook for 2 mins. Divide between 4 bowls and serve with a heaped tbsp spinach sauce, and a sprinkling of cheese, if you like. Each serving contains Energy
1541kJ 368kcal 18%
Fat
Saturates
Sugars
Salt
19g 4g 10g 2.4g 27% 22% 11% 39%
of the reference intake. See page 8. Carbohydrate 37g Protein 14g Fibre 8g
16 For more delicious spinach recipes, visit tesco.com/realfood
WORDS BRYONY BOWIE RECIPES MIMA SINCLAIR PHOTOGRAPHY TOM REGESTER FOOD STYLING BIANCA NICE PROP STYLING MORAG FARQUHAR
Spinach