SPINACH AND RICE WITH OLIVE OIL, LEMON, AND DILL

Spanakorizo is spinach and rice cooked with olive oil. It’s simple, but it ends up being more than it sounds.

In dishes like this, the olive oil isn’t added at the end. It cooks with the rice and spinach from the beginning, which is what gives the dish its flavor.

It’s one of those everyday dishes made with basic ingredients – spinach, rice, onion, and herbs – that cook together in one pot.

The rice absorbs all the flavor as it cooks, and everything comes together into a soft, almost risotto-like texture.

You can adjust it depending on what you like. More herbs, different herbs, or a little feta at the end all work. It’s also easy to keep it vegan.

There are a couple of common variations. The spring version uses more green onions, lemon, and dill. That’s the one I grew up eating.

There’s also a summer version with tomatoes, which gives it a different flavor but works just as well.

This version is the spring one.

Spanakorizo

Greek Spinach with Rice

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Greek

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1/4 cup olive oil plus more for drizzling
• 1 large onion diced but not too small
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 bunch green onions chopped
• 1 cup long grain rice.
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 lb fresh spinach trimmed
• 1/2 bunch dill chopped
• zest of lemon two if you like it more lemon forward
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• Freshly ground black pepper

Equipment

• 1 Sauce pan

Method

 

1. Wash the spinach well and set aside.
   1 lb fresh spinach
2. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and the white parts of the green onions. Cook until softened, about 3–4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
   1/4 cup olive oil, 1 large onion, 1 bunch green onions, 3 garlic cloves
3. Add the rice and stir for 1–2 minutes to lightly toast it.
   1 cup long grain rice.
4. Pour in 1 cup of stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the remaining stock in batches, letting it absorb before adding more, until the rice is nearly tender (about 12 minutes total).
   4 cups vegetable stock
5. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 3–4 minutes.
6. If needed, cover and cook for a few more minutes until the rice is fully tender.
7. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest, dill, and the remaining green onions. Drizzle with a little more olive oil before serving.
   1/2 bunch dill, zest of lemon, juice of 1/2 lemon, Freshly ground black pepper

Notes

Leftovers keep well in the fridge for a few days and reheat without any issue.

You can serve it warm or at room temperature. It works as a main dish or a side, especially with some bread or a simple salad.

Leftovers keep well in the fridge for a few days and reheat without any issue. It’s sometimes even better the next day.

OPA!