Spinach and Feta are one of those combinations that are so good together, they work in so many different situations. In addition to making wonderful spanakopita, this combo also works great as one of those all-around dinner sauces - good on top of rice, pasta, ravioli, even baked or grilled chicken. For example, the other night dinner was baked garlic chicken and long grain and wild rice - all with a hit of this sauce. Then the leftover sauce (because making a double batch is always a good idea) got used on ravioli the next night.
This is another totally vegetarian-friendly recipe - and can be altered in several ways - see below the recipe for suggestions. It also uses roux, check the previous post for a primer on the stuff. Finally, do NOT add salt! Feta is very naturally salty (it’s a brined cheese - cured in salt water, basically) and adds plenty of the flavor-enhancer on it’s own.
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 cups fresh spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped (or hand-ripped into small pieces) OR 1/2-3/4 a bag frozen spinach
1/4 cup butter
2-4 cloves garlic, minced (chopped into tiny pieces - if you’re not comfortable giving this a shot, jarred pre-minced garlic is available.)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 small package crumbled feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons basil
2 teaspoons oregano
Drizzle olive oil in a wide frying pan. Add spinach and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally. Fresh spinach will wilt, turn dark green, and then begin cooking down into a slightly mushy consistency - cover the frying pan to speed up the process a bit. Frozen spinach will thaw - leave it uncovered to help the extra moisture evaporate off.
Place the butter and garlic in a saucepan and melt over medium-low heat. When the butter is bubbly and foamy, pull the saucepan off the heat. Using a fork or a whisk, combine the flour in small amounts with the butter/garlic mixture until it looks like a thick paste. Return this mixture (your roux) to the medium-low heat. Add 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 the package of feta cheese, whisking throughly. Add another 1/2 cup of milk and the remainder of the feta, whisking again. Add the final cup of milk. Add spices and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened. Finally, stir in the warmed spinach.
Variations:
For a spinach alfredo, try using 1 cup of Parmesan cheese instead of the feta - add 1 tsp salt to the recipe to make up for the lost salt. Or, add the Parmesan and some Romano for a three-cheese sauce.
Switch out the pepper, basil, and oregano with dill, lemongrass, and white pepper
Use lemon pepper instead of the pepper
If you don’t have basil or oregano, don’t fret! Make the sauce plain or add a different Italian-ish spice.
To freeze, separate into small containers and cool, uncovered, in the fridge. Then seal and freeze. To thaw, place in a saucepan over medium heat, add an extra tablespoon of butter (to prevent scorching) and stir as it thaws - or put in the microwave (nukrowave, microzapper, whatever you prefer to call it) on defrost mode.
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