How to make spanakorizo, the Greek spinach and rice dish full of spring flavour

Food writer Anastasia Miari has collected recipes from grandmothers across the Med for new her cookbook Mediterranea, here she shares Soula’s recipe for risotto.

“It’s spring in Greece and wildflowers are in bloom over a lush blanket of grass when I arrive in the Peloponnese to cook with Yiayia Soula. We head past neatly preened olive groves to the local laiki (market) to grab the ingredients for our spanakorizo and I can tell right away that Soula is a force to be reckoned with. She has no issue being photographed in the village, posing for the camera as locals gawp at the sight of me and Marco the photographer, snapping away while Soula comically surveys the veggies in a performative fashion worthy of an Oscar. When people inevitably ask what we’re doing, she’s the first to explain that she’s being featured in a new cookbook,” says Miari.

“Back home, we cook spanakorizo in the dappled shade of the orange trees in her garden. I find Soula’s method of washing the spinach – in an enormous vat with a hose pipe – hugely entertaining and will be trying this at home. This dish is a kind of risotto, but in true Greek style, the vegetables are the star of the show and it’s much less fussy to make than a traditional Italian risotto (who has time for all that hovering and stirring?). An entire bunch of dill added into our pot brings a fresh meadow aroma to the garden and we serve it with a hefty chunk of feta and a wedge of zesty lemon.”

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1kg spinach (Soula insists it is always fresh and never from frozen)

160ml olive oil, plus extra to serve

4 large spring onions, trimmed and chopped into 1cm rounds

2 large leeks, trimmed and cleaned, then chopped into 2.5cm half-moons

1 bunch of dill, roughly chopped

2 large garlic cloves, green germs removed and roughly chopped

700ml water

150g medium-grain rice, such as karolina

½ tsp ground black pepper

½ tbsp salt

1 chicken stock cube (optional – reduce the salt by half if using)

½ lemon, for squeezing

Feta and bread, to serve

Method:

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1. Start by washing the spinach. Place it in a large bowl of water with a splash of vinegar and wash well, roughly tearing it to pieces as you do so and removing any tough stalks. The vinegar will ensure you get rid of any little friends hiding in the leaves.

2. Drain the spinach and place it in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat. Cover and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Next, add the olive oil, followed by the spring onions, leeks, dill and garlic. Cook, stirring every so often, for about five minutes.

3. Pour in the water and the rice, followed by the salt, pepper and stock cube, if using. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the rice sticking.

4. Once the rice is tender, season again to taste and add a squeeze of lemon for a final zingy flourish. Served with a slab of feta, an extra drizzle of olive oil and plenty of crusty bread.

Recipe from ‘Mediterranea’ by Anastasia Miari (Quadrille, £28).