Palak Tofu

Spinach season is almost over! I loved getting tons of spinach in the CSA this year. I'm a little behind on posting recipes (silly grad school) but I'm trying to get caught up. This is just in time for the last part of the spinach season, so go out and make this. It's sooooo good.

As before with the Mattar Tofu, I used tofu in this recipe instead of paneer. And just to blow your health freak socks off, I totally served this over brown rice. Yeah, that's right. Health. Food.

Palak Paneer
Adapted from my Kaanan's recipe for Palak Paneer

1 package extra firm tofu
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
2 bunches spinach, washed and torn
1 shallot (or small onion), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup milk
1 tbsp flour
2 heaping tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chile powder

In a medium nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the tofu and fry on all sides until golden brown. Set aside.

While the tofu is frying, melt the butter and remaining oil to a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add the spinach in batches and cook until wilted. Continue cooking spinach until it is all wilted. Add flour and stir to coat spinach. Pour in milk and stir until combined. Cook for a few minutes, then remove from heat.

Blend the spinach using either an immersion blender right in the pan or carefully transfer spinach to a food processor and pulse until mixed. Return to pot and add Garam Masala, coriander, turmeric and chile powder. Salt to taste.

Add tofu to spinach and mix to combine. Cook until tofu is heated through. Serve over rice or with naan.

Enjoy!

Oh, and if you happen to be cooking this on a 90 degree day with the threat of blackouts due to every single air conditioner being run at full capacity, you might need one of these.

Simple Sauteed Spinach

I know I know. I haven't been seen around here in a while. Between work, life, and everything in between I've hardly had time to sleep lately. This is the first weekend I'm actually home out of the last 3 weeks and I have absolutely nothing to do. Except finish that grant I'm supposed to be writing. But everyone procrastinates during grant season! (Right? Fellow scientists back me up here.) And the last 12 hours was the longest stretch of time I've had where I didn't receive one grant-related e-mail out of the last 4 days. I'm reveling in my "free time" before I have to hit the ground running again tomorrow.

To celebrate, I'm cooking up a squash filled dinner tonight with these gooodies:

The menu for tonight's dinner:
Grass-Fed Sirloin Steak a tiny little stand at the farmer's market
Roasted Acorn Squash
Collard Greens
Homemade Pumpkin Pie from scratch

I can't wait to share it with you tomorrow!

In the meantime though, I'll leave you with this tiny little recipe to hold you over until the squash explosion that will occur here over the next few days.

This is one of these things that I throw together at the last minute when I realize the only thing on our dinner plates is cheese and carbohydrates. That's usually when I usually feel a small sharp pain in my chest and realize that if I don't consume something that isn't entirely made of cheese and pasta I might just have a heart attack right then and there.

OK, that's not true. In my opinion, a dinner consisting of only cheese, pasta and bread is perfectly acceptable. In fact, it's one of my favorite dinners of all time. But if that isn't your style and you want to increase the nutrition factor in your meal without a lot of effort, you've come to the right recipe.

Simple Sauteed Spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
5 oz spinach

You can easily add other fancier things to this dish like slivered almonds, shallots, anything at all really.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, just to release the flavor. Be careful not to burn! Add the spinach in bunches and cook until completely wilted. Eat and feel healthy!

Enjoy!