Spinach a versatile veggie

Fresh spinach is delicious in simple salads or simply tossed on a sandwich. It’s also easy to steam or blanch it for a variety of dishes.

Here are two recipes from local and organic food delivery service Fresh Abundance and local growers Diane Green and her husband, Thom Sadoski.

Fresh Abundance shared this recipe for a fresh spinach dip with its customers last year. More recipes can be found on its Web site, www.freshabundance.com.

Green and Sadoski, owners of Greentree Naturals, sell their produce at the Sandpoint Farmers’ Market. Green shared her recipe for Spinach Frittata. Be sure to save the recipe through the growing season because it works with almost any produce from the garden or farmers’ market.

Fresh Spinach Dip

From Fresh Abundance

1 1/2 cups fresh chopped spinach

1 can chopped water chestnuts

3 green onions, very finely chopped

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1 small jar pimento, finely chopped

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Stack the larger spinach leaves one on top of another and chop into squares 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch in size. Combine all of the ingredients and if time permits, chill well before serving.

Yield: 3 cups dip

Approximate nutrition per 2-ounce serving: 182 calories, 19 grams fat (4.8 grams saturated, 92 percent fat calories), 1 gram protein, 3 grams carbohydrate, 18 grams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 198 milligrams sodium.

Spinach Frittata

Frittata, the Italian open-faced omelet, should be firm, but not dry, and the secret is cooking over very low heat.

1 onion

9 tablespoons butter, divided

2 cups blanched spinach

8 eggs

1/2 cup grated Swiss or Jarlsberg cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Slice onion; in a skillet melt 3 tablespoons of the butter and add onion; sauté until yellow and soft. Add spinach, stirring to separate leaves, and sauté for 4-5 minutes or until nicely coated with butter; remove from stove. Beat eggs lightly and combine thoroughly with the spinach mixture, cheeses, salt and pepper.

Melt remaining butter in a 9-inch skillet; when the butter foam subsides, turn the heat down and add the egg mixture. Cook over very low heat, covered, for 10 minutes or until set. Place under the broiler to lightly brown the top. Then loosen edges and cut the frittata into pie-shaped wedges, or slip onto a warm round platter to serve.

Note: You can also put the frittata in an ovenproof skillet, cook lightly on top of the stove for 2-3 minutes until a crust is formed, and then bake in 400-degree oven until set, about 5-10 minutes.

You can add other vegetables and herbs, such as basil with zucchini; tomatoes and marjoram; or mushrooms, peppers, chives or parsley. Let your imagination and the offerings from the garden dictate the choices as the season progresses.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving (based on 6): 333 calories, 25 grams fat (16 grams saturated, 78 percent fat calories) 15 grams protein, 3 grams carbohydrate, 344 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 640 milligrams sodium.