Catalan Spinach

3/30/2010

This delicious recipe, a favorite of customers at Jose Pizarro's Brindisa restaurants, couldn't be easier. “In Catalonia they like to cook the spinach so that it's completely collapsed and wilted,” he writes, “whereas I prefer it fresh and tossed only briefly in the hot oil. As there is quite a lot of spinach, you can cook it in 2 batches.”

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small shallot, finely diced

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup golden raisins

12 ounces baby spinach leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large wok. Add the shallot, pine nuts, and raisins and cook until golden.

Add the spinach and toss the leaves with the other ingredients (as you would a salad). The idea is to warm the spinach through — be careful not to overcook it.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Source: Seasonal Spanish Food by Jose Pizarro (Kyle, $32.95)