salads savoury delights

green peas & green spinach leaves

It’s mid of November: all over the internet food blogs indulge in Xmas cookies, Xmas cakes, Xmas whatever – Xmas dinner suggestions didn’t surface until now. I’m not so ready for this Xmas business at the moment … I think some fresh & easy to prepare weeknight dinner is also appropriate.

I also didn’t start any Xmas baking so far. I’m not in Xmas mood so early in November – although everywhere in food stores you are overwhelmed w/ Xmas cookies & Xmas chocolate & Xmas whatever even since September or so. Crazy. OK. Maybe next month I’ll try some Xmas cookies. Maybe.

The salad I want to present today is a quick affair. I remember that I got the idea from one of Jamie Oliver’s early TV shows – decades ago. Strangely, but I always remember this salad during autumn & winter …

So – what do we need:

  • peas
  • spinach leaves
  • feta cheese
  • olive oil & lemon juice.

Fresh peas … only available in June/July. So we have to rely on frozen peas which is fine.

Bring a pot w/ water to a boil. Then dump the frozen peas into the bubbling water & wait until it’s bubbling again. Let it cook for 1 – 2 min; then drain the water & give the peas a chance to cool down.

Clean the spinach leaves & dry them in a salad spinner (if not already marked as ready for use when bought!). Trim the leaves & fill the mess in a bowl.

Now it’s time for the feta cheese. I had some feta made from sheep & goat milk. Just crumble the feta in small & less small pieces.

The dressing: it’s olive oil w/ lemon juice, salt & pepper.

For the lemon juice you may either squeeze some lemon or rely on 100% lemon juice in a bottle. I had 3 tbsp olive oil & 1 tbsp lemon juice. If you like more lemon flavour (however be careful!) you may double the amount of lemon juice.

It’s essential to add a substantial amount of salt & pepper – although it’s up to you how much. As a rule I’m always rather careful concerning salt … (I’m fond of pepper!). For this salad we definitely need salt.

So now all you’ve got to do is combining …

Enjoy!

green peas & green spinach leaves
Prep Time20 minutes
Servings: 2
ingredients:
  • 100 g spinach leaves
  • 200 g peas (frozen)
  • 100 g feta cheese
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt & pepper
how to:
  • Bring water in a pot to boil, add the frozen peas & wait until bubbling again. After about 1 min drain the water & let the peas cool down.
  • Clean & trim the spinach leaves.
  • Crumble the feta cheese.
  • Mix olive oil & lemon juice; add salt & pepper to taste.
  • Combine everything in a bowl & serve.
Notes
Peas: you may also use fresh peas – if available. In this case allow for enough time for peeling. (Attention: the amount you need refers to peas, not to peas w/ shells!)
Lemon juice: you may add 2 tbsp of lemon juice if you are fond of a strong lemon flavor.
You may leave the salad for up to 2 – 3 h in the fridge before serving.
If you like more salad, e. g. 4 servings, just double the amounts!