spinach with garlic, olive oil and hot pepper (spinaci con aglio, olio, e peperoncino)
June 21, 2013 § 35 Comments
A very nice uncomplicated classic Italian side dish. Just a quick sauté of spinach, garlic, hot pepper flakes and olive oil. An effortless side and profoundly delicious. Ambitious as I am about serving greens at dinner sometimes I get stuck in a rut of humdrum salads. I like to serve this as an alternative. In my opinion, leafy greens never require much attention. Steamed or sautéed and simply dressed in olive oil and a little salt is perfect. However, sautéed and given a little spice is a fine improvement. Any leafy green may be substituted and many times I have used chard, kale, mustard greens or beet greens in place of the spinach. Keeping an eye on the greens as they cook is necessary. Some greens such as chard and kale require a little more time in the sauté pan than spinach, beet greens or mustard.
A huge towering bowl of fresh spinach reduced to a small bowl of sautéed spinach.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 2 pounds spinach, washed and dried (a little damp is ok)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- pinch of dried hot pepper flakes (to taste)
- salt
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
Once the spinach is clean, shake it to remove any excess liquid. A little damp is good for cooking. Warm the oil in a large, wide pot over medium low heat. Add the garlic and hot pepper flakes. Sauté until the garlic begins turning golden. Add the spinach and a pinch or two of salt. Turn up the heat, sauté until the spinach has turned a nice green hue. Serve with lemon wedges.
Serves 4.
buon appetite.
COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE 
Looking forward to making this dish.
I love sautéed greens! Beautiful dish.
Thank you Darya. I do too.
My favorite way to prepare just about any vegetable!
Looks delicious and I’m sure it went beautifully with the chicken(?) we can see on the side! Yum!
I too get in a rut with my veggies and usually just do a green salad. This is a beautiful dish and yet so simple! Gorgeous photographs!
Thank you Lidia. I am a huge salad fan (I even crave them!) but sometimes I just need to change things up a bit. :)
This is how my Mom made spinach and now I do, too. It’s the best! I hope your followers give your recipe a try. I’m sure they’ll be very pleased. :)
I am beginning to think “we really are cut from the same cloth”! :) I know I would love to dine in your home.
I love spinach with garlic and olive oil. But never used red pepper flakes before. Will have to try that the next time I make it. Thanks for sharing.
Yum : )
Love sautéed spinach…isn’t it amazing how a huge bowl wilts down so much.
Exactly the kind of non-fussy healthy food I’d like to eat right now. Perfect!
Simple, and very tasty/satisfying, just as Popeye would like. :)
When I was in my late teens, I was so skinny, with very skinny legs, my much older brother confused the two and started calling me Popeye instead of Olive Oil. Even now that I am hardly Olive Oil like, my nephew still calls me Popeye. :D )))
What a great story Fae! I used to love watching Popeye when I was a kid. Although I couldn’t stand to eat spinach! It’s so endearing he stills calls your Popeye. :)
I cooked your lovely spinach recipe last night to go along with our roast chicken and it was so delicious! It will now feature regularly on our table. Thank you!
This makes me so happy. You made my day! We have this spinach fairly regularly and I am always pleased. It is especially easy to make when you use the washed and packaged spinach. Thank you for letting me know. :)
I think your spinach is very different from what I can get over here. And baby spinach for salads are way to costly to be cooked like that. But I just love this recipe. Yummm….
That is a shame! I have used baby spinach for this recipe too. However, it is not too expensive to buy here in Seattle, Washington.
You ARE speaking my language. Simple, beautiful, food.
Going to try this with kale tomorrow. Rave reviews for your carbonara recipe, it was dinner tonight! Though there was a moment of panic when we couldn’t find the cheese…someone had stuck it in the freezer!
Wondering what you would do with one beautiful walla walla onion? I want our next date to be a leisurely stroll through a farmer’s market (soon!), while I take notes!
I’m so glad the carbonara was a success! Let’s do a farmer’s market right away. Stay tuned…tomorrow I am posting a walla walla onion soup. You are going to need to stop off at the market and pick up two more. (So interesting you should ask) :) I hope your kale is delicious.
This looks so delicious! My husband and I love spinach, so we’re always looking for new ways to prepare it. This one is a surefire winner – I love every flavour in this! Thanks lovely!
Lovely– my husband loves spinach–and I love garlic. I think we’re set with this one! thanks.
This looks yummy:) I have never thought of serving it with lemon:) Sounds like a wonderful idea:) Thank you:)
Thank you! So nice of you to come for a visit this morning! :) I am going to try your garlic paste technique! :)
so simple, but I bet it tastes so good!
it did taste good :) Made it tonight with mostly spinach, but some remaining swiss chard too. Love the super vibrant green color!
oh good! I am so glad you made it. I have made this with swiss chard too. You really can not go wrong with garlic, olio and hot peppers, right! :)
nope, even my husband loved it :)
Perfect.
Sometimes simple is beautiful. Lovely dish.
Thank you so much….I agree.
The method sounds easy. Im gonna have to try this!
Hi Sophia. Thanks for stopping in. I remember stopping by your blog a few months ago. I really enjoy your content and it is so well put together. I look forward to checking in more often. :)