123Alice
12-04-2003, 06:23 PM
I just found a recipe for Four-Day Spinach
It sounds very intriguing to me, but also WAY too over the top with butter. Just wondering if anyone has ever had it or heard of it before. Oh, it's from the book, Greene on Greens and Grains.
Four-Day Spinach
This spinach out-take is of Russian descent, and a number worthy of some czar's kitchen. It is a curious but fabled rendition: spinach that is seasoned with only butter and vodka and cooked, then set aside, then enriched and cooked again, over a period of ninety-six hours. The recipe is from Phillip Schulz's excellently spirited cookbook, "Vodka 'n Vittles".
2 pounds fresh spinach, washed, stems trimmed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
5 teaspoons vodka
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat 4 quarts of salted water to boiling. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach. Let it stand 2 minutes, then rinse under cold running water and drain. Gently squeeze the spinach to remove excess liquid. Roughly chop.
2. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the spinach. Cook, stirring constantly, until all the butter has been absorbed into the spinach and the spinach is warmed through. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the vodka. Transfer the spinach to a bowl and allow it to cool. Cover, and chill 24 hours.
3. The next day, heat the spinach in another 4 tablespoons of the butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until all the butter has been absorbed and the spinach is warmed through. Sprinkle with another 1 teaspoon of the vodka. Transfer to a bowl, cool, cover, and chill 24 hours.
4. Repeat this process again on the third day.
5. On the fourth day, repeat the process once more. When the spinach is warmed through, add the remaining 2 teaspoons vodka, the lemon juice, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Serves 4
(Have to admit that the last instruction, Serve Immediately, struck me as immensely funny considering the actual dish takes 4 days to make! :D )
It sounds very intriguing to me, but also WAY too over the top with butter. Just wondering if anyone has ever had it or heard of it before. Oh, it's from the book, Greene on Greens and Grains.
Four-Day Spinach
This spinach out-take is of Russian descent, and a number worthy of some czar's kitchen. It is a curious but fabled rendition: spinach that is seasoned with only butter and vodka and cooked, then set aside, then enriched and cooked again, over a period of ninety-six hours. The recipe is from Phillip Schulz's excellently spirited cookbook, "Vodka 'n Vittles".
2 pounds fresh spinach, washed, stems trimmed
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
5 teaspoons vodka
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat 4 quarts of salted water to boiling. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach. Let it stand 2 minutes, then rinse under cold running water and drain. Gently squeeze the spinach to remove excess liquid. Roughly chop.
2. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the spinach. Cook, stirring constantly, until all the butter has been absorbed into the spinach and the spinach is warmed through. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the vodka. Transfer the spinach to a bowl and allow it to cool. Cover, and chill 24 hours.
3. The next day, heat the spinach in another 4 tablespoons of the butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until all the butter has been absorbed and the spinach is warmed through. Sprinkle with another 1 teaspoon of the vodka. Transfer to a bowl, cool, cover, and chill 24 hours.
4. Repeat this process again on the third day.
5. On the fourth day, repeat the process once more. When the spinach is warmed through, add the remaining 2 teaspoons vodka, the lemon juice, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Serves 4
(Have to admit that the last instruction, Serve Immediately, struck me as immensely funny considering the actual dish takes 4 days to make! :D )