Adam Frost of BBC Gardeners’ World shares advice for growing your own greens, spinach and chard, showcased in recipes from our food director Cassie Best
Spinach
Fast and easy to grow as a cut-and-come-again ‘baby leaf’ vegetable, or for its larger leaves, you can harvest spinach all year round given the right varieties. It works well in containers, too. Use the mature leaves in a stew or curry and use the raw baby ones in a salad.
Vibrant spinach, coconut & paneer curry
Spinach forms the base of this silky curry, adding an earthy flavour and a vibrant green colour. You can freeze the sauce for a few months, defrosting a portion then adding the paneer or another protein.
SERVES 4 PREP 15 mins COOK 30 mins EASY V
❄ sauce only
2 tbsp oil or ghee
2 medium onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tbsp ginger purée (roughly a
thumb-sized piece) small bunch of coriander, stalks finely chopped, leaves picked
1 ½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 green chilli, thinly sliced
400g can coconut milk
200g fresh or frozen spinach
250g paneer, cut into 2cm cubes
½ tsp garam masala
½ lemon, juiced cooked rice, to serve
1 Heat 1 tbsp of the oil or ghee in a large pan over a low-medium heat. Add the onions and sizzle for 15-20 mins until golden brown.
2 Stir in the garlic, ginger, coriander stalks and cumin seeds. Turn up the heat a little and cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until the cumin seeds are aromatic, then add the turmeric, 1/2 the chilli, coconut milk (reserving 2 tbsp to serve) and spinach. If using fresh spinach, you may have to do this in batches, letting each handful wilt before adding the next. Season well, cover with a lid and cook for 5 mins, then remove the lid and bubble for another 5 mins.
3 Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil or ghee in a frying pan and cook the paneer for 2-3 mins on each side until browned.
4 Add half of the coriander leaves to the curry along with the garam masala and a squeeze of lemon juice, then take the pan off the heat and use a hand blender to blitz the curry until smooth and vibrant green. Add a splash of water if the sauce is too thick.
5 Tip the paneer into the curry sauce and bubble for another minute. Serve scattered with the remaining chopped chilli and coriander leaves, then drizzle with the remaining coconut milk and serve with cooked rice.
GOOD TO KNOW folate • vit c • 1 of 5-a-day • gluten free PER SERVING 475 kcals • fat 39g • saturates 25g • carbs 10g • sugars 7g • fibre 3g • protein 20g • salt 0.1g
