The Weeknight Kitchen · Side · About 10 minutes

Spinaci all'Aglio
garlicky sautéed spinach

Name: Spinaci all'Aglio
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 450 g spinach; 30 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 4 garlic cloves; ¼ tsp red pepper flakes; 3 g kosher salt; ½ lemon

A whole pound of spinach wilted in olive oil with sliced garlic and a whisper of chili, down to a soft, glossy, garlicky little heap. The fastest green on the table — five minutes, one pan — and a gentle partner for anything rich.

~10 min total 1 lb spinach vegan · GF

Spoon cost

Time ●○○○○ Anytime

VeganGluten-Free

Servingsas a side

Units

Ingredients

Add it in handfuls, and pour off the water. A whole pound of spinach looks like a mountain and cooks down to a couple of cupfuls — add it in batches, tossing, and it wilts in a couple of minutes. It also throws off a lot of water as it goes; tip the pan and spoon the liquid off before serving, or you'll have garlicky spinach soup. Keep the garlic pale gold — browned garlic goes bitter, and here there's nothing to hide behind.

Method

Cook's notes

Baby or mature spinach. Baby spinach is the easy default — no stems to pull, tender, mild, wilts in seconds. Mature (bunch) spinach is heartier and a touch more mineral; pull the tough stems, wash it well (it hides grit), and give it an extra minute, adding a splash of water and a lid if it needs help softening. Both are lovely; baby is the low-spoons pick.

The water is the whole game. Spinach is almost all water and dumps it into the pan as it wilts. If you skip the draining step you get a soupy, pale side; drain it (or keep the heat up and let the liquid cook off) and you get a concentrated, glossy, garlicky one. Don't wring it bone-dry, though — a little moisture keeps it silky.

A whisper of nutmeg is the traditional Italian partner to spinach — just a few scrapes off a whole nutmeg over the pan. Optional, but it's the quiet thing that makes people ask what's in it.

Best straight from the pan. Unlike the beans, this one doesn't hold or reheat gracefully — it dulls and weeps. Make it last, right before you sit down; it takes five minutes, so there's no reason not to.

Serve it beside a rich secondo — chicken piccata, a roast, a braise — or pile it on garlic toast, fold it into eggs, or use it to stuff a chicken breast. The garlicky green goes with almost everything.

Easier, if you like

Bagged baby spinach is the shortcut — no washing, no stemming, straight into the pan.
Frozen spinach works when fresh is a lot: thaw a 300 g block, squeeze it very dry (this matters), and warm it through in the garlic oil — 2 minutes, done.
Microwave-wilt: steam the spinach in a covered bowl for a minute to collapse it, drain hard, then toss into the garlicky oil just to coat.

Vegan and gluten-free as written

Richer: start the garlic in a knob of butter along with the oil, or finish with a shower of grated Parmigiano — either makes it no longer vegan.

Creamed, almost: stir a splash of cream (or a spoon of mascarpone) into the drained spinach off the heat for a quick creamed-spinach feel.

No lemon? A small splash of white wine vinegar at the end brings the same brightness.