You Had Me At Gorgonzola

I made a very tasty little spinach side dish last night, if I do say so myself. And of course I would never withhold this kind of information from you, my little ducklings, so let me give you the gist of what I did. But first, I should tell you that I am not usually a big fan of cooked spinach. (This is how you know it was a pretty amazing dish, without me coming right out and yelling it in your face.) I mean I don't dislike spinach or anything, and I know it's ridiculously good for you, but I usually prefer to eat my spinach in the form of a salad, maybe once every couple months. I just don't really think about spinach very often. Out of sight, out of mind. But good gracious, that Farmer's Market of ours has inspired me to do all sorts of things, and this turned out to be a very pleasant experiment.

Do it, you'll love it. I'll put my personal guarantee on that.


What I used:
1 bunch of spinach, rinsed and torn into large bite size pieces (and it's a good thing if it's still a little bit wet when you go to use it)
Unseasoned breadcrumbs (eyeball your measurement- it's really up to you. I probably used at least 1/2 cup, maybe more? Hard to tell...)
Olive oil
Toasted pine nuts
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
Crumbled gorgonzola
Salt & pepper

What I did:
Generously coat large saute pan with olive oil over medium heat. Add smashed garlic; stir it around and cook a few minutes until it's VERY aromatic and slightly golden brown and beginning to soften. Add breadcrumbs (which will absorb all the olive oil, so you may have to add a bit more), and stir. I just wanted to lightly toast the breadcrumbs and infuse them with all that garlic oil, so it only took a few minutes. Then I added large handfuls of spinach (maybe 2 at a time) and kept stirring it around until each addition cooked down (wilted). Kept doing this until all spinach had been added and incorporated. At this point, all your lightly toasted breadcrumbs and garlic should be mixed in nicely with your cooked spinach. Remove from heat.

Here's where the real fun began: season to taste with salt & pepper. While spinach is still warm, sprinkle gorgonzola crumbles on top. Toss to incorporate. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts, and serve. The gorgonzola will be all melty- soft and delicious.

That's all there is to it. Don't you just love how gorgonzola makes EVERYTHING taste better? That and bacon. Wait! Speaking of bacon, maybe that should get thrown in here, too! Experiment, have fun, keep me posted.