Spinach, Rice and Cheese...

Zach wanted me to put this recipe on the blog. It is a favorite comfort food around here. If I mention that I have the ingredients to make this, I can very quickly have lots of helpers cleaning and chopping spinach. There really aren't any exact measurements for this one, so here goes...

Spinach Rice and Cheese

3-4 cups of uncooked rice - prepared however you like to do it. I put water in a pan (twice the amount of rice) and heat to boiling. Add 1/2 to 1 tsp. sea salt and a glug of good quality olive oil (small glug). Pour in the rice, cover and reduce heat to low for about 20 minutes. (This is for Jasmine rice. The cooking time would be longer for brown rice, and you might need a bit more water. Brown is good in this recipe too.)

1 large bunch of spinach or about 2 bags of baby spinach. Wash well, cut off stems and chop them. Chop spinach.
1 onion, chopped
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Soy sauce
Butter

In a large skillet, saute the chopped onion and spinach stems in a small amount of butter until they start to brown. Add hot cooked rice, and soy sauce - enough to tint it lightly - to taste. Mix well. Add chopped spinach and shredded cheddar. Mix well and serve.

This sounds strange when I write it out, but it turns out all sticky, cheesy, spinachy and not at all as bland as it sounds. I use reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari. I think some of the yumminess has to do with using good quality ingredients. It doesn't take a lot of cheese if you use a quality sharp cheddar.

Serves 5 or 6 for lunch, with fresh fruit.