I Like Spinach

I'm not a real picky eater; I just don't like a lot of vegetables.  I like green beans, especially French style, and lettuce, and I love green peppers.  But that's about it in the green vegetable department. I won't touch any of the cooked greens, like spinach, kale, etc., but I love spinach dips that all the restaurants have now.  I also like raw spinach when it's in salad form.  A spinach salad with a warm, sweet vinegarette dressing is a welcome break from the usual creamy ranch dressing.  I'm first to admit that it's weird -- I'll eat spinach dip and raw spinach, but I wouldn't eat cooked spinach.  Until yesterday.  Easter 2005 will go down in history as the day that I ate cooked spinach, and actually liked.  AND took a second helping. 

Let me preface by saying that it wasn't like I plopped a bunch of plain cooked spinach on my plate and ate it up - it had some help in the form of chopped onions, sliced mushrooms and mozarella cheese.  But cooked spinach was the central focus in this casserole. It was awesome. The recipe comes from an old restaurant here in Louisville called Mazzoni's Oysters. There wasn't any left for me to bring with my lunch today;  it was that good.  I guess my Mom was right about this after all - she says I'd eat anything if it had cheese or brown gravy on it.  Looks like she was right about the spinach.  Here's the recipe should any of you, my faithful readers, like to try it.  Save some for me.

Mazzoni's spinach bake

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1½ pounds frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
1 egg, lightly beaten
2½ cups sliced mushrooms
1¼ cups shredded mozzarella
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dried basil

Heat oil in a pan. Cook onions over medium-low heat until translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make sure as much moisture is squeezed out of the spinach as possible. The best way is to thaw in a colander, then press down on the spinach when it is thawed. Then, turn spinach out on a clean dishtowel, and squeeze it well over the sink, to catch any further moisture. (If the spinach is not very dry, Mazzoni's chef April Thomas warns, the casserole will be soupy.)

In a large bowl, mix spinach and onion. Add beaten egg, mushrooms and cheese, salt, pepper and basil. Mix very well. Turn spinach-egg-cheese mixture into a 13-by-9-inch casserole. Bake in a 350-degree oven 30 minutes or more, until casserole is set in the middle.

Serves 8.

Nutrition data: 130 calories, 7 grams fat, 10 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams fiber, 470 milligrams sodium.