Have you ever been lost for words to describe how something tasted? Well! This spinach lasagna did that to me; there was so much going on “taste wise” as I ate. Similarly to how an artist uses pastel colours with hints and tinges, there was a hint of this flavour and a tinge that seasoning, that danced together in my mouth. The meal was absolutely fabulous; I felt satisfied, but not over full and, strange as it may seem, I didn't even miss meat.
For those of you who have been reading this blog for some time, you will certainly know that I am a certified “meat mouth” so this may come as a surprise. But you just have to try it and you'll see, rather taste, what I'm talking about.
Two Types of Spinach
There are many plants that we call spinach or bhaji, as I have explained in a previous post but the one commonly used for this dish is the Amaranth (Amaranthus Spinosus). I believe some people also call it chorai bhaji here in Trinidad. The young leaves of this plant really cooks well so much so that we use it in bhaji, soups or sometimes in callaloo together with dasheen bush. The Amaranth is quite a hardy plant and grows in conditions that other plants may die quickly; like concrete or very dry soil.
Planting and Cultivating
Planting it, based on my experience, is also easy. The tiny seeds are shaken in the area where you want it to grow and you don't even have to prepare the soil. In a few weeks thereafter, you will see the healthy seedlings growing at a pace that soon overgrows the area.
If you want you could add some organic fertilizer or 13:13:20 to help the plants grow healthier. Then every few weeks or so you just pass by with a knife and cut the young heads and make rice and bhaji or eat it with bake or in a pastry (spinach patty) the list goes on ….or as in toady's post you could also make spinach lasagna. Or if you have a lot you can sell some at $6.00 a bundle (see! I'm showing you how to make some money at the side also! ) LOL!!!
Benefits and Uses
After doing some reading about this plant, there is a lot of info I found that proves how beneficial this plant is nutritionally and medically that you can read about here. In some countries it is even used in making a red dye. But it is sometimes treated as a weed; commonly known as pig weed in the USA. Anyhow I'm sure there may be people that know about the plant and use it in meals, possibly in a similar way. OK! OK! I realise that I'm talking too much; recipe time now. So without further ado here's Spinach Lasagna.
P.S. Do you have an exciting recipe that you use amaranth in? I would like to hear about it.
Trini Spinach Lasagna Recipe
Trini SPINACH LASAGNA
Ingredients:
1 pack of lasagna pasta
1 bundle of spinach (bhagi)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons oil for sautéing the spinach
1½ pounds cheddar cheese, grated
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour, all purpose
1 cup milk
½ cup chunky tomato sauce (optional)
Direction:
Wash and clean the spinach.
Sauté the garlic and onion in a deep pot.
Add the spinach (bhagi) to the pot, mix and allow to cook until the leaves are soft.
Make the white sauce. Over a low flame, melt the butter, stir in the flour, and add the milk. Mix, preferably with a fork to ensure that the flour don't lump together. Continue to boil until the milk gets thick. Remove immediately from the flame.
Boil the pasta. Drain when cooked and set aside to cool.
Grease the dish and line it with the pasta. Add the white sauce (if you are placing tomato sauce, then add it now), layer the spinach, then the cheese, and then another layer of pasta. Continue when done.
Note: you will have about three layers when done.
You may still have some spinach, this can be placed on the top as well before the last layer of cheese. Bake for 40 minutes at 250 degrees F.
The finished Spinach Lasagna. Allow to cool before serving.
Well that's it for another enjoyable post. Before I go; I just want to extend an invitation to all who read these blog posts, to join my newly formed group over at Facebook. You can click on the icon at the top or just do a search for Simply Trini Cooking in Facebook. It's open to everyone and you can post pictures of any of the recipes you have tried etc., discuss anything, chat or meet other foodies just like me.
OK!OK! Ah gone now. Bye!
Trini Spinach Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 pack of lasagna pasta
- 1 bundle of spinach bhagi
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. oil for sauteing the spinach
- 1 1/2 lb. cheddar cheese grated
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 2 tbsp. flour all purpose
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup chunky tomato sauce optional
Instructions
- Wash and clean the spinach. Saute the garlic and onion in a deep pot. Add the spinach (bhagi) to the pot, mix and allow to cook until the leaves are soft.
- Make the white sauce. Over a low flame, melt the butter, stir in the flour, and add the milk. Mix, preferably with a fork to ensure that the flour don't lump together. Continue to boil until the milk gets thick. Remove immediately from the flame.
- Boil the pasta. Drain when cooked and set aside to cool.
- Grease the dish and line it with the pasta. Add the white sauce (if you are placing tomato sauce, then add it now), layer the spinach, then the cheese, and then another layer of pasta. Continue until done.
- Note: you will have about three layers when done. You may still have some spinach, this can be placed on the top as well before the last layer of cheese. Bake for 40 minutes at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Allow to cool before serving.
Looks YUMMY!!!
I wil have to try it.
I love any VEGGIE recipes.
Its my opinion vegetarian is the best way to go! Great photos!
Oh! We love this…great style with good photos. We always are interested in ways to serve spinach. Thanks, s
STUNNING batch of lasagna!!
Very nice and fresh lasagne expertly done.. kool xoxox
Excellent! I made lasanga day before yesterday 🙂
I love this! I think it’s time to make another lasagna dish. Luckily, I also have some spinach in the fridge!
Wow!! so many comments. Thank you my foodie friends, you made my day 🙂
Beautiful presentation!
Using amaranth in lasgne is new to me. Looks very tempting in your picture.
We use amaranth (both red and green varieties) a lot in our cooking.
When you say trini spinach lasagne, do you mean that amaranth is called spinach there? I am asking because to me, spinach and amaranth are two different things.
The amaranth is commonly referred to as spinach or chorai bhaji here in Trinidad. There are other plants that fall into this category of “bhaji” as well. But I’m interested in your take on spinach and amaranth. What are the two plants you’re referring to?
From your pictures, what you have used here is amaranth, which we call “keerai” in my language (Tamil). “Chorai” might be a version of that, perhaps?
Spinach, as I know it, is called “paalak” in Hindi and has darker green and wider leaves. You may check the following links for pictures.
http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/2005/11/13/
http://www.sailusfood.com/2008/07/07/palakura-pappu-spinach-dal-palak/
this looks awesome. My husband and I just started growing spinach in a pot. We want to make a pink sauce with the cream and tomatoes. I’ll post if we do it soon. Thanks Foodbuzz friend!
http://www.cheapfoodhere.com
No problem Ashley, I look forward to seeing the pink sauce.
looks real good, i give it a try
when you say that the tomato sauce is optional, do you mean that both the white sauce and the tomato sauce can be used together in this recipe?
No, not together. The tomato sauce will be cooked together with the spinach to give it a richer taste.
Great dish
Allo Felix – either in weight or in cups – how much s a “bundle” of spinach please?