Low fat Greek spinach rice (spanakorizo)

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope you’ve had a lovely week.

Today I made one of my favourite Greek vegan recipes, spanakorizo (Greek spinach rice). Usually we make it with plenty of olive oil and we enjoy it with feta cheese (delicious combination!).

I have cooked it with just a tablespoon of olive oil per portion to turn it into a healthy recipe for weight loss!

I decided to use white rice instead of brown to maximise iron absorption. Using brown rice would add 2 grams of fibre per portion, but brown rice is also rich in phytates that could decrease iron absorption. For the same reason adding feta cheese is not the best idea, unfortunately! Spinach is a great plant iron source and a portion of spinach rice contains 6.16 mg of iron (46% RI)! Also, even with white rice, this meal contains 28% of fibre RI. Adding lemon juice, an excellent source of vitamin C, also increases iron absorption and it tastes amazing!

Greek Spinach Rice

Greek spinach rice with minimum amount of olive oil. You can add salt if you need to, personally I am trying to avoid added salt and I still find it delicious!

If you do not have a water boiler that's fine, but add at least 10-15 minutes to the cooking time.

If you would like to try this recipe with brown rice it will also take a few more minutes to cook!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Resting time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine Greek, Mediterranean

Servings 2 servings

Calories 430 kcal

Equipment

• water boiler
• wooden spoon
• stove
• stock pot with lid

Ingredients

  

• 120 grams raw white rice (a bit more than 1/2 cup)
• 600 grams baby spinach
• 1 large white onion
• 40 grams fresh lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

 

• Wash the baby spinach. Cut the leaves in half and remove the stems.
  
• Peel, slice and dice the onion.
• Wash the rice with tap water and set aside for now.
• In the pot mix the onions with the olive oil. Put the stove on low to medium heat and sweat the onions for 3 minutes. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon to make sure the onions will not stick to the bottom.
  
• Start heating 250 ml (a cup) of water in the water boiler.
• Add the spinach and mix. Sweat the spinach for 5 minutes. It will shrink a lot!
  
• Put the stove on medium heat and add the boiling water. Cover the pot and let it boil for 10 minutes.

  Start heating 500 ml (2 cups) of water in the water boiler while you are waiting.
• Add the rice, pepper and boiling water and mix. Cover the pot and let the food boil for 15-20 minutes. Keep cooking over medium heat!
  
• Turn the heat off and remove the pot from the stove while there is still some water left. Stir the food and let it rest for 10 minutes.
  
• Serve, add juice from 1/2 lemon per serving and enjoy!

Keyword greek recipes, healthy recipes, vegan recipe

Summary

Recipe Name

Greek Spinach Rice

Author

Maria Tikka

Published On

2020-08-08

Preparation Time

20M

Cook Time

40M

Total Time

1H10M

Average Rating

5 Based on 2 Review(s)