With the timing only I can manage, I’ve chosen to write about spinach főzelék just as the weather here in Liverpool has suddenly remembered that it’s August and has finally stopped raining. In my defence, last week it was proper ark building weather so I thought a lovely comforting bowl of creamy garlicky spinach was just what was called for. So I’m carrying on regardless and readers might dip back into this when it’s a bit cooler.
I’ve talked about főzelék before, explaining that it’s not really translatable other than vegetables in sauce with a vaguely similar preparation method. This is my favourite one. I adore spinach in all its forms but this is the way my Papi made it. He had a bit of an obsession with Popeye – it was one of the few cartoons that made it to Hungary in his youth, and he remained convinced of the magical power of spinach. My sisters were less keen. A celebrated anecdote in the family and indeed, amongst friends, concerns an evening meal. My friend Sue was round for dinner, and Dad made spinach főzelék and grilled pork chops. Part of the family ritual, no matter what meal it was, was to sit round the table, set with cutlery and napkins. We had three dining tables. Yes. I know. Slightly excessive. Food was quite important in my family. Also my Dad co-opted dining tables to use as a desk. In addition to his two actual desks. Instead of clearing the paperwork, teetering piles of old Radio Times and general medical paraphernalia off the dining surfaces, he bought another table. Thus we had a dining room, a morning room and a kitchen, all with tables. Naturally the kitchen had the smallest of these and was inevitably the one that we crowded round on a daily basis. But today we had guests so 6 wouldn’t quite fit round that yellow formica rectangle. The morning room table was cleared, ie everything on it was shoved in boxes and stuck under the nearest sofa. An aside, when I had to clear the house after my father died, I went through hundreds of these boxes of papers. I had to go through each box individually because of locating treasure such as my original birth certificate found sandwiched between copies of the Radio Times and a pile of old Barclaycard bills….
I digress. Back to dinner. I mentioned napkins earlier. We all had our own napkin ring, with coloured napkin to roll into it. There were frequent arguments about who got what colour but my middle sister liked orange, so that was the usual option for her. Dinner was served. Creamy spinach főzelék topped with a juicy pork chop. Plates were cleared. Suspiciously so. My father then shook out the napkins that had been bunched up next to my sisters’ plates. He came to the orange one. Spinach főzelék flew through the air. Green decorated the walls, my father and the floor. There was shouting. A lot. If you make this, please don’t throw it. It does not wash off white painted walls easily… Obviously no-one admitted to hiding spinach főzelék in their napkin but we had our suspicions.
Spinach főzelék
500g frozen leaf spinach – am sure you can use fresh, but I have always used frozen – defrost first.
1 tbsp lard or veg oil
2 tbsp flour
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1/4 pint of milk
Salt and pepper
Gently heat fat and then and the garlic. Keep it moving, don’t let it colour or burn. Add the flour and cook until biscuity in colour. Add the milk and make a very thick roux. Add the spinach, stir very well and keep it moving while the mixture thickens. You may need to add a little more milk – you want it to be thick and creamy. Season well with salt and pepper, and if you have it, a rasp or two of nutmeg.
Dollop on a plate and eat with a pork chop, bacon, bit of chicken, or as I have been known to, just a hunk of bread. Delicious!
Finom - the food of Hungary 