Kalustyan's just got in a jarred Pkaila that is quite tasty and saves a lot of time ...
This looks a lot like the palak paneer that you can get at the Pakistani joint Lahori Kabab at 122 Lexington - very dark, cooked down in quite a bit of oil until it's almost pastelike. It's delicious! I wonder if Pkaila and Palak have similar etymologies.
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Definitely sounds like something that was discovered by accident.
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It sounds as if it's quite oily/greasy...is it? I'd like to try myself to but that Syrian restaurant in Philly that serves this sounds like an easier option lol.
I've had spinach prepared in what must be a similar way at a Syrian restaurant near Philly. I asked how it was made because the flavor was so much more intense than I had ever tasted- they said it was cooked a long time in a lot of oil. They wouldn't tell me how it was seasoned!- but it is irresistibly delicious. We hit that restaurant every chance we get.
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@Deb Cronin Can you share the name of the restaurant?
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Ottolenghi's recipes seem to me excessively complicated--way too many ingredients, way too time-consuming. I wonder how many Times readers actually bother to go through all of this.
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@Thomas McNamee
I agree, but after reading the recipes, I'm so hungry - gotta stop reading this stuff before dinner is figured out. I am going to cook both recipes!
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As an Italian, I learned from my Nonna that after frying spinach in oil until soft, toss it with juice from a fresh lemon, salt and pepper, add a smattering of pine nuts and enjoy. Nothing better.
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@Lucy Now that sounds fabulous!
It is! Try it sometime and you’ll enjoy it.
TJ's sells spinach lasagna. Very tasty. You don't need to torture the spinach to enjoy it. Probably invented by Tunisian refugees when they went to Its,y. (Just kidding) :=)
Is it just me, or is halibut a little too delicate for what I imagine is a rather intense spinach flavor?
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I think unsalted creosote achieves exactly the same effect.
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I can't wait to try this. It reminds of a Richard Olney recipe from Simple French Food for a spinach gratin in which the spinach is baked long and low in a generous amount of olive oil, resulting in spinachy velvety yumminess.
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A most innovative advice on spinach. I would prefer halibut well grilled, without any spinach or chickpeas.
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