It’s interesting how one’s palate changes with time. Most people would agree that one’s list of favourite foods grows with age, specially with regard to vegetables and greens, raw or cooked. I can’t remember actually relishing vegetables as a child — except possibly potato and cauliflower. Today, though, there’s not a single leaf, plant, stem or root that I will shun and this has opened up a vast canvas where the possibilities are endless.

Some, in fact, have gone from the hate list to the list of all-time favourites. The one that comes most readily to mind is the good old spinach — palong shaak to us Bengalis — and right now is the season for it. For food value, versatility and universal availability, there is probably not a single item of food to match it and unless for reasons of geography and climate, almost certainly it exists in the cuisine of every country on earth. As I write, there is almost two kg of it in the kitchen, handpicked from the backyard of a friend’s garden house in Sonarpur. And I can’t make up my mind what to do with it. Chorchori? Soup? Saag Gosht? The tender leaves raw in a salad with a vinaigrette dressing? In a Chinese stir-fry? In a lasagne? Or just sauteed in olive oil with garlic?

Popeye, who got his superhuman strength because of his love for spinach, was probably part of a plot to make children eat spinach. But regardless of how it worked, or how many child converts could be counted, little did we know that the good sailor was also protecting himself from cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, arthritis and other illnesses.

One cup, or 180 g of boiled spinach, provides just over 40 calories. According to a statistic called the World’s Healthier Foods Rating, this is a cup that cheers. For its content, Vitamins A, K, C, B2, and B6, its rating is “excellent” and the same goes for magnesium, manganese, iron, calcium and potassium. For dietary fibre, protein, copper, zinc, phosphorus and Vitamins B1 and E, its rating is “very good”.
But statistics and health benefits apart, these were not the reasons for liking spinach. It has become a favourite food, and here are some nice and interesting ways in which to enjoy spinach.

Spinach rolls

A batter is made with flour, egg, milk, cream and a little bit of oil and six or eight pancakes are made out of it. Spinach, cooked and chopped; cooking apples cooked and pureed; sugar, nutmeg and salt are mixed together and spread over the pancakes, which are then made into rolls and placed in an oven-proof dish. A sauce made with melted butter, milk, flour and cheese is poured over the rolls and then they are baked.

Spinach and eggs

Another less elaborate way is a typically British way and must be a Popeye preference. The spinach is washed thoroughly and cooked till tender. It is then drained and reheated with butter and a seasoning of salt and butter, and kept warm. Scrambled eggs cooked in water are spooned into the centre of the spinach which has been arranged in a plate.

Variations on this theme are to add a bit of chopped parsley to both the spinach and the egg, or to mix in some white sauce, cream or sour cream with the spinach, which can then form a bed not only for the scrambled eggs but for poached eggs or sliced hard-boiled eggs as well. Chopped fried bacon is a good add-on, especially when the eggs are scrambled, and bits of fried bread make a good garnish.

Spinach with Anchovies

This is a really simple Mediterranean recipe. The spinach is cooked without salt or water till soft. It is then drained and finely chopped and kept aside. In the same pan, anchovies and garlic are sauteed in butter, the spinach is returned to the pan, ground black pepper is added and the dish is cooked till well re-heated. It is served with triangles of fried bread.

In our part of the world, we use the word shaak for not only spinach, but for any plant with edible leaves and stalks. And our lal shaak is entirely red, and perhaps not actually a relative of palong. But to the world at large, red spinach is green with red highlights on the leaves which are thicker and crunchier than the green, as are the stems. Our pui shaak is named in English as climbing spinach, and is another vegetable which graduated from the list of disliked items to the list of favourites. As did virtually every kind of gourd we have — bottle, white, ridged, wax or snake. But that’s another story.

Got a spinach recipe to share? Tell t2@abpmail.com