MasterChef spinach root dish: How to make this healthy recipe

In Turkish cuisine, particularly in the Aegean region, discarding the pink, slightly fleshy roots of spinach is considered a culinary oversight. A recipe shared by Cumhuriyet highlights how these often-neglected parts of the spinach plant can be transformed into a delicious and waste-reducing dish.

The dish, a "zeytinyağlı" (cooked in olive oil), utilizes spinach roots, which are described as potentially more flavorful than the leaves themselves. This approach champions the principle of "sıfır atık" (zero waste) in the kitchen, encouraging cooks to find value in ingredients typically thrown away.

The recipe calls for approximately 1 kilo of spinach roots, cut into 2-3 finger-length pieces along with their stems. Key ingredients include a medium onion, a medium carrot, two cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of rice, a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil, half a lemon's juice, a teaspoon of sugar, a teaspoon of salt, and a cup of hot water.

Preparation involves thoroughly washing the roots, which tend to hold a lot of soil, by soaking them in water with vinegar. The process continues by sautéing chopped onions and sliced carrots in half the olive oil until softened. Minced garlic is added and cooked briefly before the cleaned spinach roots are incorporated and gently mixed.

Rice, lemon juice, sugar, and salt are sprinkled over the roots, followed by the hot water. The dish is then simmered covered for about 20-25 minutes until the carrots and roots are tender. Finally, the remaining olive oil is drizzled over the cooked dish, which is then left to rest and cool in the pot, allowing the flavors to meld.