“Vitello Milanese” & “Sformato alla Fiorentina” from “Brutto”

Or, to translate into English, “Fried Breaded Veal Fillets” and “Spinach Cooked in the Oven.” See? Doesn’t it look better in Italian?

This was another recipe I did not hesitate to try, mainly because we both love veal. I had planned to make something different, but when I saw my local butcher Dring’s had veal, I very quickly pivoted. Also, as I’ve written before, although Jamie Oliver may have become rich (or more accurately richer) from his 30-Minute Meals and 15-Minute Meals– and yes, I still have PTSD from it– but you can’t beat a breaded veal cutlet for speed when it comes to dinner.

This was no different. It’s quick work to flour, egg and then bread the cutlets, and then you fry them. You have to be quick; the last thing you want is tough veal, which is what happens if you overcook them. This recipe didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it didn’t have to. Veal cutlets are sublime, and even typing this days after the fact is making my mouth water.

The creamed spinach was a bit different, in that rather than boiling the spinach down and then adding the cream and nutmeg to it, you instead quickly cook the spinach down, add an egg-cream-cheese mixture to it, and then bake it in the oven. The clue, I suppose, is in the name. An added bonus was I got to name drop Catherine de’ Medici, because she, like me, loved spinach.

I love creamed spinach in all its guises and this was no different. Baking it in the oven took longer, but I suppose this might be a handy recipe to keep to hand if you’re having a dinner party and want all the work done in advance, rather than faffing around at the stove at the last minute. We had some leftover, which we used on a white pizza two nights later, and I can confirm it was delicious.

It was another winning dinner from Brutto.

“Spanakorizo with Chicken” from “I Dream of Dinner”

One of the great things about this cookbook is that for nearly every recipe, Ali Slagle offers alternatives. It’s really handy if you like the looks of the basic recipe but can’t find one of the ingredients or maybe want to tweak it a bit but don’t know where to start.

This is the dinner I came up with after looking at the recipe for “Green Rice with Singed Feta.” I was all in for the green rice, but the problem was finding radishes that still had their leaves attached. Our greengrocer didn’t have them that day and I knew that our local supermarkets only carry radishes without their leaves.

The variation below said we could make the green rice using only spinach– check– and then we could finish it off not with singed feta but regular feta– check again. This was called Spanakorizo– close enough to the spanakopita we know and love that we wanted to give it a try. We love a bit of spinach and feta. But we also had a hankering for some chicken that night as well, so I then followed the recipe for chicken and rice just below the spanakorizo variation.

It was a total triumph. The green rice, studded with spinach and green onions, delivered a fork full of goodness. The chicken thighs on top were just what we were looking for. I can definitely see myself making this again and again.

“Spinach and Stichelton Pie” from “A Cook’s Book”

Nigel Slater is such a good writer.

This is obvious to anyone who’s ever read his work. But my experience of making this pie took it to a whole new level. I say this because as I was browsing this book, looking for something easy to make after a long day of work, I chose to make this pie.

Sure, you say, that’s what cookbooks are all about.

But what I need to mention is that I found his description of the beauty of pie, and this pie in particular, so seductive that I was persuaded that this would be the perfect dinner after a non-stop, pretty intense, 10-hour working day.

Let me repeat that: I made this pie after a 10-hour working day.

Was it delicious? Absolutely. Was a hearty combination of cheese and spinach just what we needed after a long day? Again, absolutely.

I should add this caveat, however. This is not a quick dinner. We found ourselves finally eating dinner at 8.30 p.m., watching the week’s episode of “Succession”. It was a perfectly happy time, to be sure, but also a bit late to be eating dinner.

The pie was even better three days later when we reheated the second half to have for dinner. I think it gave the blue cheese enough time to really come to its own, so it had a much bigger kick.

Would I make this again? Absolutely. Perhaps not after a 10-hour day, but I definitely will make it again. I’m also keen to try it with other cheeses. Feta instead of blue cheese would turn it into an almost spanakopita, which I’m certain will be delicious.

Damn you, Nigel Slater. I wish I could be resistant to your writerly charms.

“Mushroom, Spinach and Ricotta Yorkshire Pudding” from “Comfort”

March is such a funny month. Not quite winter anymore, but not quite spring. You get fooled into thinking that spring will be arriving when you’re greeted with a sunny morning, only to abandon that notion by dinner time when the temperature has dropped to single digits (celsius).

The recipe is firmly in my favourite food wheelhouse: copious cheese, spinach, mushrooms, and a cheese delivery mechanism, which in this case is a Yorkshire pudding. Yum. Just the sort of thing to warm your belly on a cold March night.

As soon as I surmised that Nicholas, Hater of Spinach, would not be joining us for dinner, I decided to make this. However, what I forgot to account for is that his brother, Andrew, is not a huge fan of mushrooms (it’s the texture, he says). So just after I asked, “Doesn’t this look delicious?” he replied, “Are there mushrooms in this?”

Curses.

Needless to say, Andrew was not a fan. But that’s his loss because the adults at the table loved this. In fact, anyone who didn’t have an aversion to spinach or mushrooms would probably enthusiastically eat this, like we did.

John Whaite’s genius idea is to make a Yorkshire pudding, take it out when it’s done, slather it with loads of cheese, spinach and mushrooms (with the latter two ingredients fried when the yorkshire pudding is baking) and then bake it again. Honestly, it was sublime.

Highly recommended for people who don’t have food aversions.

“Chicken & Garlic Bread Kebabs, Blood Orange, Spinach & Feta” from “Everyday Super Food”

Maureen: As you can see, the plates of the adults do not match the plates of the children.

Tim: Why is that? (laughing, because he already knows the answer)

Maureen: I knew that the younger half of this family would not abide a plate of spinach salad, even if there was feta tossed over it, so I made them couscous and purple-sprouting spinach instead.

Andrew (15): Couscous! I love couscous!

Nicholas (12): Thank you for not making me eat the spinach salad.

Maureen: Your feelings about spinach are clear. Also, I wasn’t sure I was up for the drama involved, so I just bypassed it altogether. What do you think?

Tim: I like it.

Maureen: Me too. I like all of it. Though I know the salad– using the term loosely since it’s really just spinach leaves, oranges and some dressing– would not be a hit with the boys.

Tim: I’m not sure that the oranges add anything.

Maureen: I don’t get why they’re there either. Maybe it’d be better if I had been able to find the blood oranges he wanted me to use, but I doubt it.

Nicholas: I like the chicken.

Tim: Where is the kick coming from in the chicken?

Maureen: You add cayenne to the marinade. I like it.

Andrew: I’m not crazy about it.

Maureen: Why not?

Andrew: I don’t know. I just don’t fancy it. I like the couscous, though.

Maureen: That’s not part of this recipe.

Tim: I think you should make this again, or at least the chicken part of it. It was a winner.

Maureen: I agree.

“Chicken, Spinach and Cheese Polpette” from “A Bird in the Hand”

 

Anna: My first recipe from this book and I have already swayed from its central tenet: I have used turkey mince, not chicken.

Peter: Drings do chicken mince, don’t they?

Anna: Only if you order it in advance. And I’m not that organised anymore. I mean, I’ve cooked us something new and different! That’s an achievement these days.

Peter: They are very nice. I’m getting citrus…

Anna: That’s the lemon zest.

Peter: How do they differ to Gwyneth’s meatballs?

Anna: Would you be surprised if I told you they are a lot less healthy? Lots more cheese, breadcrumbs, and that sort of thing. But I like these a lot.

Louis: Yum! I LOVE them! I am going to eat them ALL up!

 

 

“Turkish Poached Eggs with Spinach and Yogurt” from “A Change of Appetite”

Oh wow! If I close my eyes I could be in Turkey. Seriously. I think it’s the garlicky yoghurt. And the foaming butter drizzled over the eggs. This tastes so indulgent and not at all healthy. But the recipe is from this book so it MUST be healthy! In which case I will be making it again. Weekend brunches. Yum, yum, yum.

 

 

“Spinach, Bacon and Gruyere Frittata” from “Rachel’s Everyday Kitchen”

Maureen: Meat Free Monday!

Andrew (14): Well, not really. Isn’t there bacon in this?

Maureen: Yes, there is. If I was really faithful to Meat Free Monday I would have substituted red pepper for the bacon, but I didn’t. I just can’t turn down bacon.

Nicholas (10): I’m glad you put in the bacon, but why did you have to put in the spinach? You know how I feel about spinach?

Maureen: Yes, I do know that, which is why I showed you the recipe for approval before I made it. Spinach is in the title! It’s hard to miss!

Nicholas: But I missed it, and now I have to eat around it.

Maureen: Why eat around it? Why not just eat it? I love spinach.

Andrew: Come on, Nicholas, this is really good. Give it a try.

Maureen: Yes, I like it too. It was quick, we had most of the ingredients on hand, and, it’s delicious. As a bonus, you can have bacon sandwiches for breakfast tomorrow because I bought too much bacon.

Andrew: Bacon Sandwiches For The Win!

“My Sag Aloo” from “Save With Jamie”

Kudos for David Loftus, who did the photography for “Save with Jamie,” for making this recipe look so appealing in the photos for the book. My photo doesn’t look horrible, I think, but the ones in the book look SO MUCH more appetizing. 

One of the problems with this recipe is the way that it’s spelled.  Our local indian spells is saag aloo, but a quick check on the Interweb shows that both spellings are OK, so maybe I’m being a bit picky. It doesn’t take anything away from the dish, however, which was quite good.

The recipe itself is a winner. First of all, it’s vegetarian and even vegan — if you drop the use of yogurt– which is always a good thing in my book. We would have had it for Meat Free Monday, but alas we had it on a Tuesday just to mix things up a bit.  I’m always looking for good vegetarian dishes, so I think this one might be added to a regular rotation.

There’s two things you should know before making this, though. First this dish takes some time to make. In my case, it took about an hour from start to finish. This wasn’t a problem for me, as I had the time, but if you’re in a rush, this isn’t a recipe to use. The long cooking time probably did contribute to the really rich flavours that it had, so perhaps the time commitment was worth it. Second, you need to be confident in the instructions and be willing to work the burner on your stove. There is a lot of liquid that needs to be boiled down, but you do get there in the end, even if it does seem like quite a lot of liquid at the beginning. It just takes time to do so (see No. 1).

I had to make one modification, which might have altered things somewhat. It turns out that frozen spinach is a rare ingredient, as none of our local stores (The Cooperative, Sainsbury’s, even Waitrose) had it to sell. In the end, I got 400 grams of fresh spinach– rather than 300 grams of frozen– and mixed it into the curry in batches so it would wilt and become incorporated. I’m quite certain that just adding frozen spinach would be easier, but I had to make do. It might have been even better using fresh instead of frozen as a result.

Did we like it? Yes we did. I had mine wrapped in lettuce leaves (see photo above), while Tim and Andrew had theirs with naan bread and rice. I think Tim and I liked ours slightly more than Andrew, but only because he’s not a huge fan of spicy dishes and this had quite a bit of chilli in it. In the future, I might not add the temper of chilli and garlic to the boys’ dishes and instead just put it into ours.

Will I make it again? Probably. But only on a weeknight in which I had the luxury of time to make it, which, unfortunately, in this house, isn’t very often.

“Mustard Chicken Salad” from “How Easy is That?”

Peter: I like this. What’s in the dressing, apart from mustard?

Anna: Well there’s tarragon in it. And it’s supposed to have tarragon vinegar, but I couldn’t find that. So I used cider vinegar instead.

Peter: There’s a lot of this. I’ll be having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Anna: I liked her tip for doing the chicken, roasting it on the bone and then shredding rather than poaching. But this did mean that it took quite a while to make dinner which isn’t so cool on a school night.

Peter: This would be good as a salad at a barbeque or a party.

Anna: You’re right. Honestly I find it a bit boring. So I don’t think I’ll be going out of my way to make it again. Sorry.