There’s no one way to make the classic Greek dish spanakorizo, but all versions include rice, spinach or other dark leafy greens (by name, they must!), dill, and lemon. While many recipes call for first wilting fresh spinach, adding rice, and then cooking the two together, using frozen chopped spinach presents a couple of distinct advantages: One, it’s easier (no washing and drying leaves) and two, it lets you rein in the moisture level so you don’t end up with a soggy final product. (Be sure to squeeze that thawed spinach realllly well to expel excess water.)
Feel free to switch up your alliums—use an onion or a couple of leeks in place of the scallions, or add in some garlic for good measure—and to halve the dill. (As written, this recipe is for dill lovers ONLY.) To make this a meal, try it topped with crumbled feta, a poached or soft-cooked egg, tomato-cucumber salad, seared fish, and/or fried shallots.
What you’ll need
Vegetable Peeler
$14 $10 At Amazon
Medium Saucepan
$50 $33 At Amazon
Mesh Sieve
$16 At Amazon
Kitchen Towels
$30 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Remove zest from 1 lemon in wide strips with a vegetable peeler or paring knife. Slice lemon in half; set aside.
Step 2
Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium. Add lemon zest and 8 scallions, thinly sliced, and cook, stirring often, until scallions are bright green and beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup basmati rice, rinsed, drained well, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, and half of 1 bunch dill, tough stems trimmed, finely chopped, and cook, stirring, until rice is coated in oil, about 30 seconds. Pour in 1¼ cups plus 2 Tbsp. water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and simmer until rice is nearly tender and water is absorbed, 13–15 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, place one 10-oz. package frozen spinach in a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl and pour in boiling water to cover. Let sit until thawed, 5–10 minutes. Drain well and transfer to a clean kitchen towel; squeeze hard to expel as much excess moisture as possible. Transfer spinach to a cutting board and run through a couple times with a chef’s knife to finely chop.
Step 4
Remove pan from heat, uncover, and top rice with spinach. Re-cover and let sit 10 minutes to allow spinach to steam. Using a fork, fluff rice and incorporate spinach. Stir in remaining half of dill and juice from 1 reserved lemon half. Season with freshly ground black pepper.
Step 5
Transfer rice to a bowl and drizzle remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil over.
