Popeye should try this! Spinach, Armenian Style

You don't like spinach, you say? Just so you know . . . you don't have to be Popeye to love spinach!

Image courtesy of cartoongraphics.blogspot.com

Whenever I'm grocery shopping at Costco, I purchase the 2.5 pound cellophane bag of pre-washed fresh baby spinach -- (located in the cold room for veggies) -- granted not fresh from our local farmer, but still fresh.  (The Farmers' Markets in New England haven't started offering spinach yet -- we still have a couple of months to wait for that treat!)

As soon as I get home, I get out my two largest stainless steel bowls (and I mean large), I empty the bag of spinach into one bowl, and fill the bowl with water.  Slosh it around a bit, lift the spinach out of the first bowl and place it into the second bowl, empty the first bowl of all its water (and any sand that may have accumulated on the bottom of the bowl), and repeat the process twice more.  Now I am relatively sure of having clean spinach.  I set the spinach aside in a large over the sink strainer to drain, while I chop up one very large yellow onion (also from Costco), saute the onion in olive oil, and when nicely golden, transfer the sauteed onion (with the olive oil) into the largest soup pot that I own.  Bringing the onions to a sizzle in that pot, I add the drained spinach.  NOTE: DO NOT ADD WATER!  Turn down the flame under the pot and constantly turn the spinach, bringing the spinach that's on the bottom to the top so that the spinach cooks in its own juices.  After about 10 minutes of this, the spinach will have all cooked down to approximately 1/10th of its original mass.  REMOVE THE POT WITH THE SPINACH IMMEDIATELY from the stove, (i.e., do not over cook) and take the spinach out of the pot with a slotted spoon, placing it in a bowl for seasoning and serving.  We season our spinach with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and Armenian red pepper.  Save the broth at the bottom to add to your next soup. 

Luckily I had just finished preparing this dish when I received a call from my friend's husband:  Come on over! It's Joan's birthday today!  Great, I'll be right over, I replied; what can I add to the table?  A vegetable would be good, he answered.  And there it was, Armenian spinach, ready to go. (Now who but Marash Girl would ever think to bring spinach to a birthday party!) The ultimate compliment came when the birthday girl's son finished every bit of the spinach on his plate, and the birthday girl shrieked, "Hey, I thought you didn't like spinach!"

So happy birthday and Happy Mother's Day, Joan, and Happy Mother's Day to all mothers who will never again have to tell their children, "Now eat your spinach, dear!"

N.B. This post is dedicated to my Aintepsi mom and my Marashtsi mother-in-law, who taught me what food should taste like!