Spinach Toasts

Description


Cooking spinach takes very little time, but you need to wash and drain it carefully, and remove tough stems first, which may take 5 or 10 minutes. Plan accordingly. The spinach on these little appetizers is a great source of iron and vitamins A and C.





Ingredients

3/4 cup purified water

2 bunches fresh spinach (about 2 pounds), stemmed

9 pieces thinly sliced whole wheat bread

1 small onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon canola or grape seed oil

2/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

Freshly ground pepper to taste

11/2 tablespoons chopped toasted walnuts



GARNISH

1 red apple, cut in thin wedges





Instructions

Preheat oven to 300°F.



Pour the water into a large stainless steel pot and bring it to a boil. Drop in the washed spinach and cook for 3 minutes, stirring several times. Drain the spinach in a colander over a pan to catch all the water, which you can save to make vegetable stock (page 122). Put a bowl or plate on top of the spinach, inside the colander, and press down to squeeze excess water from the leaves.



Trim the crusts from the bread slices, cut on the diagonal to create 2 triangular pieces, then cut again to make 4 triangles. Put them on a cookie sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sauté the onions and garlic in canola or grape seed oil in a medium nonstick sauté pan over low heat until onions are softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.



Put the spinach leaves into a medium bowl, along with the onions and the garlic. Add the yogurt, mint, pepper, and nuts and toss thoroughly with a fork. Spread the spinach mixture on the toasts just before serving. Garnish with apple wedges. Makes 36 pieces - 3 triangles per person.