The kids adore this meal – watching Popeye to encourage spinach intake (in any language – our kids love it in Greek) beforehand helps also – as does feeling their biceps before and after the meal!

Ingredients: 

• 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1-2 large onions
• 2 leeks
• Teaspoon of crushed garlic
• 1 &1/2 cubes of (organic) veggie stock
• 2 & 1/2 cups rice (organic white or whole grain rice)
• Washed and chopped (1/2 cm slices, no need to dice) spinach as much as you can fit in the pot. I usually start with about 2/3 of a shopping plastic bag full of unwashed chopped spinach. (If you use frozen spinach let it thaw and drain some of the water off first or consider it in your water levels of cooking)
• Pepper to taste

For serving, available on plates in the middle of the table:

• Lemon quarters
• Feta cheese in blocks to crumble on top
• Homemade Tzatziki (see previous recipe- Sandy’s Cretan tzatziki)
• Olives (on the table)
• A plate of cut cucumbers, red and/or yellow tomatoes adds colour

Method:

1. Cut up onions leek and garlic in a pot with 2+ Tbs of olive oil (we use more but olive oil is used very freely in Greece) cook until translucent
2. Toss on the uncooked rice and stir until rice starts to get a bit of colour
3. Mix up the vege stock and add to rice with 2 &1/2 cups of water,
4. Drop the washed chopped spinach on top and put the lid on. Let it all settle for 5 minutes.
5. Mix the spinach through the rice, add pepper. Add more water – I don’t keep a strict vigil on my water levels – but I usually use about double the quantity (cups) of rice and add one. This is a moist mixture, not dry.
6. Serve on a plate with above garnishes. Watch those kiddie muscles grow!

By Sandy King