cooking @ home

This began as one of my experiment meals a good decade or longer ago. You go to restaurants, you see various veggies in the rice. Get a box of Rice-a-roni, little carrots or peas in the rice. So, what the heck, one night way back when, I put two dishes together, spinach and rice. They tasted good, looked great together. My mother and step-father Dave who I was cooking for enjoyed it a lot, as did I.

Can’t say it was great, but it was darn good. As time went on I started to mess with it more — aka, perfect it. Adding raw onion was too bitey. Dave thought it was an improvement though. Mom and I didn’t. Then again, Dave could smother so much horseradish sauce on a hot dog you couldn’t see the hot dog.

Eventually, it came to what you see below, with onion nicely cooked in butter and parmesan cheese added. It’s literally funny how much this super-simple combination of basically four ingredients can taste so good and yet it does. I almost forgot to add it here, as, whatever the reason, haven’t made it in a good six months. Maybe it’s because it’s turned Fall that it came back to my mind. Something about it yells robust and warming and soothing.

In any event, it makes a beautiful side. Trust me, once you’ve had this you will make it again and again. Great alongside a starch, though naturally with all the rice in it, this really should be the starch on the plate. I feel like I should write more, but there’s nothing else to say except: it’s true, sometimes simple is best.

Spinach and Rice
©2007 Harry Kenney

ingredients:

6 cups of cooked white long-grained rice (follow box directions)
16 oz cooked frozen chopped spinach (steam or light boil, and do reserve the water when draining)
one onion, diced and browned (preferably in margarine or butter, not oil)
3-4 oz grated parmesan

season to taste:

salt
pepper
died basil
dried oregano
garlic powder (optional and if use, use sparingly)

Boil the rice, lightly brown the onion, cook and drain the spinach, mix with big spoon in pot thoroughly, add spices, stir thoroughly, add parmesan, stir well. When adding parmesan, do to taste and texture, that is, go for the taste you want, but as it also dries out the mix, add 1/8 cups of spinach water to it, keep adding cheese and water as required to get taste and good consistency. When have those where you desire them, one more taste for seasoning (you may have watered that down while adding the water and cheese) so season more as needed, serve. Makes enough for 8-10 servings.