Nigel Slater’s recipe for spinach, coconut, tomato and brown rice - MW

Recipe
Cut 3 medium-sized onions, cut them in half from top to top, then cut each half into 6. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and let them cook, stirring frequently for 12-15 minutes, until they start to soften.

Peel 35g of ginger, cut along longitudinally into thin pieces, then cut each slice into matches. Add ginger to the onion, then stir in 2 teaspoons of dill and turmeric powder, and continue to cook for a minute or so, then stir in 50ml of water. Chopped a large, moderately hot chili. Cut in half 300g of cherry tomatoes and stir them and chili into the onion. Continue cooking for 5 minutes. Stir in 200ml thick coconut cream. Let boil for 5 minutes.

Put 150g of brown basmati rice in a small saucepan covered with 3cm of water. Add 6 cardamom pods, 4 cloves, ½ teaspoon salt and 6 black pepper and bring to the boil. As soon as the water begins to boil, close the lid tightly, turn down the heat to low to low and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and leave for 5 minutes before lifting the lid.

Wash 200g of baby spinach leaves and stir them into tomato sauce. Cover and let stand for a few minutes, then turn them over in the sauce, cover and let simmer another 2-3 minutes until the leaves are soft and relaxed. Divide rice between 2 plates and spoon on spinach and coconut sauce. Serve 2

Recipes
Using delicate, delicate spinach leaves and don't be tempted to skip washing them. You will believe the amount of grit that can appear in a bag of washed spinach. Make sauce first, then cook rice. The sauce will keep warm in its pan, covered with a lid. Give it a final heat flow before serving, if needed.

Squeeze
You can take advantage of the other green vegetables around this time, using them instead of spinach. Purple kale, cavolo nero, spring cabbage or mustard greens, should be lightly cooked before draining and added to tomato sauce. Instead of basmati, you can use quinoa or couscous, the latter being mixed with chopped cilantro.

MW