I’m such a food blogger wannabe. Indulge me. I’m having fun taking pictures of food.
Spinach With Pancetta and Feta
Sassy spinach — Not overcooked and with a lot of flavor.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup(s) red onion diced
- 1/4 ounce(s) pancetta small cubes
- 1-1/2 bunch(es) fresh spinach chopped
- 2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
- some feta cheese crumbled
- salt and pepper
Preparation
- I was tempted to use garlic and red pepper in this recipe, because that’s how I do most greens. But today I was in a dainty mood.
- If you want to be especially fancy, then lay the spinach out on some paper towels to dry. Less water in there, means a nicer presentation.
- Sautee the onion and pancetta in olive oil. Add a little salt and pepper while it is cooking. Salt helps the onion break down faster.
- Add the chopped spinach. Use tongs to flip it over and over, so it cooks evenly.
- Cook it until it’s 90% done. You want a little crunch and sass left in your spinach. It takes some practice to get to that 90%, but no one is going to the emgency room from ingesting undercooked or overcooked spinach, so worry not.
- Put it on the plate and add two big spoonfuls of feta cheese.


That one line was really funny to me. I just returned from a trek in Nepal where half of the group almost did have to go to the emergency room … from eating undercooked spinach. Guess it entirely depends on the country and the standard of cleanliness.
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I remember obsession over under-cooked spinach, when traveling in Italy, at 3mo pregnant. Unknown to both of us, I and my hostess were pregnant, and trying to follow completely different sets of rules about what to eat when pregnant. She was obsessed about the cleanliness of greens while I was obsessed about cured meats and raw cheese. It took me about a day before I realized I should probably mostly follow her rules, since she knew the hazards in Italy better than I.
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Unknown to both of us
I can remember a time about ten years ago when no woman in our social circle could turn down a glass of wine without everybody assuming she was pregnant.
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Now everybody assumes “alcoholic”.
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How did you make the slide show? I like it.
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It’s a feature of WordPress. If you have WordPress, it’s in “the upload photos” feature.
Raw spinach is a staple. We went out for brick oven pizza last night, because I was too busy watching the soccer match to make dinner. They had a salad of raw spinach and beets. Yum!
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You did a great job with the pictures. Sauteed spinach with garlic, golden raisins and pine nuts is a staple in my house. Usually with bacon. I’ll have to try pancetta instead.
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I’m curious — I guess i always thought of dark leafy green vegetables as ‘winter foods’, particularly spinach and kale. But yesterday at Sam’s Club they had a lot of it. (Weren’t beets also at one time a winter food?)
is it the influence of paleo nutrition? the constant availability of foods like root vegetables? It still seems weird to me to be eating kale in the summer. I associate it with hearty winter stews.
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