Turkish leaf spinach with minced meat and rice

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 kg fresh leaf spinach
• 300 g minced beef or beef and lamb mixed
• 3 onions
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 1 jar short grain rice
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp paprika paste, mild or hot
• Oil for frying
• salt and pepper
• Sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Ispanak Yemegi

A very tasty and, above all, light dish, which makes it perfect for summer. It’s also delicious eaten cold. First, clean the spinach leaves. It needs to be washed thoroughly to ensure there’s no dirt left in the finished dish, otherwise it crunches when eaten and isn’t nice. I fill my sink with water and let the spinach float in it for a while, rub it through with my hand, then drain the water and repeat the process. You should do this at least three times, more if necessary. Then drain the spinach in a colander. Peel and dice the onions. Brown the ground meat. Once it’s browned all over, add the onions and continue cooking. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar over it and season with salt and pepper. Cook until nicely roasted. Then press in the garlic clove and stir in the tomato and bell pepper paste, cooking briefly. Reduce the heat and add the first portion of spinach. Stir in as much as you can, then put the lid on and wait a few minutes. The spinach will collapse faster with the lid on. Mix everything well and add more and more spinach until it’s all in the pot. Finally, add the rice. Then add a little hot water, about a glass of water (200 ml). Not too much, we don’t want soup, but the water helps the rice cook. Cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 20 minutes, then stir again. If it’s still too runny, you can let it simmer a little longer with the lid open so that the liquid evaporates. It tastes best when served with garlic yogurt. Simply press as much garlic as you like into natural yogurt and add a little salt. You can serve it with flatbread. Note: The rice is only used to bind the dish and should deliberately not be the focus; the spinach should be the focus.