It’s spinach time, guys! and we should use it as much as we can, because it’s generally known that the spinach is a very healthy vegetable. It’s a rich source of vitamin C that strengthens immunity and helps iron resorption; then vitamin A that maintains healthy skin and mucous membranes, and finally, vitamin B groups, including folic acid that helps creating red blood cells. However, if you don’t have your own in the garden, be careful of where and from who you buy it, because many traders at the markets buy it from someone else or treat it with a variety of harmful substances, and in the end it all comes down to the fact that it’s better not to eat it if you’re not familiar with it’s origin.
One of my favorite pies is spinach pie or zeljanica, but since I don’t have much time after work, I have come up with a way to enjoy in it, without spending two hours developing the dough after a hard and long day. This dish got the name “uljevak” ot “izljevak” (something that is spread on the sheet), so it can be made of potatoes, cheese, squash, grill, bliss, corn flour, …
Ingredients:
• about 500 g of spinach
• 400 g of fresh cheese
• 200 g of sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of milk (100 ml)
• 1/2 pack of baking powder
• 4 tablespoons of oil
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 7 full tablespoons of flour
• For the dressing after baking: 1 cup of milk (200 ml), 1 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 tablespoon of salt
Wash the spinach thoroughly, remove the stems and cut it into stripes, you don’t have to do it too thin because it will definitely reduce by baking. Mix all the ingredients in the bowl and finally add the spinach, mix everything together. The density of the mixture should be like the one for pancakes (even the denser), as it’s on the photo:
Put a little bit oil in the tray before placing the mixture into it, so that it does not stick. Heat the oven at 230 degrees C, then bake the pie for 30 minutes until it gtes some colour, then reduce to 190 for the last 15 minutes. Check with a toothpick if it is done by ducking the dried toothpick in the thickest part, and if it comes out almost clean, that means that it is done. During this time, heat the milk, butter and a little salt, but don’t boil it, pour over the baked pie and put it back into the oven (that is turned off), let it stand in the oven for 10 minutes.
A tip: In case you don’t eat everything, put the remains into a box or container with a lid, because it can be eaten the next day, but do not heat it up because the spinach is not convenient to be re-heated after it has been processed thermicaly.
