Lemon Garlic Spinach

Serves 2.


Adapted from Cooking Light, December 2007.


Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced (I use jarred)
11 oz package fresh baby spinach
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and half of spinach to pan and saute until spinach is just wilted.
3. Add remainder of spinach to pan and continue to saute until all spinach is wilted, but still bright green.
4. Sprinkle spinach mixture with rind and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir in juice and remove from heat.

Seared Steak with Rosemary-Mushroom Spinach

This is a simple weeknight meal that takes little more effort than sauteing plain spinach. Incorporating the rosemary and the dried mushrooms makes a huge difference in flavor. As a child who grew up eating (rather, NOT eating) mushrooms from a can, I have recently discovered the amazing flavor of truffles and gourmet mushrooms. I happened upon a large container of mixed gourmet mushrooms at Costco recently that were perfect for this recipe. The flavors would also work well with kale. I used a simple salt and pepper seasoning for the steaks since they taste great all on their own.

Adapted from Food&Wine Magazine's 2002 Cookbook.


Serves 4.

Ingredients
4 6 oz strip steaks (or steak of your choice)
1/2 cup dried mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
11 oz. fresh baby spinach
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Soak the mushrooms in boiling water until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain the mushrooms, reserving the liquid separately. Rinse the mushrooms to remove any grit, then coarsely chop.
2. Preheat gas grill to medium high. Grill steaks until medium rare, about 4 minutes per side. Let steak rest for about 3 minutes before serving.
3. While steaks are cooking, melt the butter in a large, deep skillet. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook over medium heat until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the rosemary and cook for about 1 minute. (Flip the steaks at this point.)
4. Pour in half of the mushroom soaking liquid and simmer until reduced to 2 Tbsp, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, 1 large handful at a time, tossing and letting it wilt slightly before adding more. Add remaining cooking liquid, as needed, to keep mixture moist.
5. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until tender but still bright green, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve with steak.