Spinach Vegetable Kugel

Spinach Vegetable Kugel

Norene Gilletz

The vegetables for this colorful, vitamin-packed kugel can be prepared quickly in the food processor.  Double the recipe for a large crowd.  It's a winner!  Use frozen spinach instead of fresh if you prefer.

Food Editor's notes:  This is moist, flavorful, and very colorful.  I used fresh spinach, hand chopped all the vegetables, and chopped rather than grated the carrots, as I like the texture and taste of slightly larger pieces.  I cooked the kugel for 45 minutes and the top was firm but the interior was moist.  It tasted wonderful hot from the oven and also at room temperature an hour later.  This is so healthy, so pretty, and so versatile, that it might just become a staple in your repertoire.  Serve it with fish or roast chicken, or as part of a buffet brunch, lunch, or dinner.
 
Ingredients

10-ounce package fresh spinach
2 onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 carrots, grated
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 eggs plus 2 whites (or 3 eggs)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup matzo meal

Instructions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash spinach thoroughly.  Remove and discard tough stems.  Cook spinach in a covered saucepan until wilted, about 3 minutes (or microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes).  Don't add any water.  The water clinging to the leaves will provide enough steam to cook it.  Cool and squeeze dry.

2.  Heat oil in a non-stick skillet on medium heat.  Sauté onions, celery, red pepper and carrots for 5 minutes, until golden.  Add mushrooms and cook 5 minutes longer.  (Or cook vegetables uncovered in the microwave for 6 to 8 minutes on HIGH.)

3.  Chop spinach coarsely.  Combine with remaining ingredients and mix well.  Pour into a sprayed 7 x 11-inch Pyrex casserole.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, until firm.  Cut in squares to serve.

Yield: 10 to 12 servings.  Reheats well or may be frozen.

81 calories per serving, 2.7 g fat (0.5 g saturated), 42 mg cholesterol, 4 g protein, 11 g carbohydrate, 241 mg sodium, 257 mg potassium, 2 mg iron, 2 g fiber, 52 mg calcium.

* Spinach Muffins: Follow recipe above, but spoon batter into 12 sprayed muffin cups.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, until golden.  Serve as a side dish with meat, poultry or fish.  Great for the lunch box!

Norene Gilletz is a valued contributor to ShalomBoston.com.  This recipe is from her book Healthy Helpings: 800 Fast & Fabulous Recipes for the Kosher (or not) Cook ($19.95 U.S., Woodland Publishing).  Norene lives in Toronto, Canada, and has several other kosher cookbooks to her credit, including one of my personal favorites, The Food Processor Bible (Whitecap Books).  See recipes, food tips, nutritional information, and more on her web site at http://www.gourmania.com.

Spinach Vegetable Kugel
ShalomBoston.com