Realising the Chinese word for spinach – bocai – which I have known for decades, means ‘Persian’ blew my mind. While scholarship has stumbled over the precise date and means of spinach’s transmission from west to east, it is generally accepted the so-called ‘chieftain of leafy greens’ arrived in China, in seed form, from Iran via Nepal in the middle of the 7th century. Special and rare enough to be sent as tribute from the Nepalese king to the Tang Court in Chang’an, spinach is now a mainstay on tables across the world. Including mine. This recipe is a testament to both the versatility and ubiquity of the leafy green. Serve it with bread and cheese or as part of a brunch spread.
• 4 eggs
• 1tsp fine sea salt
• ¾tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 300g frozen chopped spinach
• 4tbsp ghee or 60g unsalted butter
• 1 onion, finely diced
• Sea salt flakes
• Aleppo chilli flakes or dried chilli flakes
1. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. Add ½tsp each of the salt and pepper and use a fork to lightly whisk the eggs. Set aside.
2. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to the boil over a high heat. Add the spinach and cook for 3 minutes, then drain in a fine mesh sieve.
3. With the back of a wooden spoon, press down on the drained spinach (still in the sieve) to get as much moisture out as possible. Set aside.
4. Melt the ghee or butter in a medium non-stick sauté pan (or a well-seasoned cast-iron pan) for which you have a lid over a medium heat. Add the onion, along with ¼tsp each of the salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes or just long enough for the onion to turn golden brown.
5. Meanwhile, see if you can press down further on the spinach to get some more liquid out; if it’s cool enough, you can try to squeeze with clean hands, but don’t worry if you can’t get any more liquid out.
6. Reduce the heat to low, and add the spinach to the browning onions, along with the final ¼tsp salt. Mix the spinach and onions together well and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring frequently, before flattening out the mixture across the centre of the pan.
7. Add the eggs to the pan, spreading them out evenly across and through the spinach in the centre. Cover the pan and cook for 6-7 minutes until the eggs are set. Transfer to a serving plate and top with sea salt flakes and chilli flakes to taste.
Photography by Laura Edwards (DK RED, £28).
For a teenage Anna Ansari hell-bent on a summer in Italy, being packed off to China felt like a catastrophe of epic proportions. But, as destiny would have it, the trip marked the beginning of a life-long love affair with the history, beauty and flavours of the Silk Roads, as vividly illustrated in her debut cookbook