What is Sautéed Spinach ?
Sautéed spinach is spinach that has been cooked in olive oil flavored with garlic, and then finished with butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper. It has a soft texture and an earthy flavor. It is a good side dish with a wide variety of meat and egg dishes.
What does Sautéed Spinach Taste Like?
Harsh, disagreeably acrid taste, like that of aspirin, quinine, wormwood, or aloes. producing one of the four basic taste sensations; not sour, sweet, or salt.
Ingredients
Spinach is leafy green vegetable with thin stalks that grow in a cluster in the soil. Spinach has green, tender leaves that are oblong, but on the rounder side. Baby spinach has thin, tender leaves, while mature spinach has larger leaves that are still tender and bruise easily, but are a bit sturdier. The flavor is green and vegetal. It can leave a fuzzy mouthfeel from the oxalic acid that is found in spinach. Spinach can be eaten raw or cooked.
Olive oil is extracted from the fresh olive, which grows on a tree. Many olives are needed in the extraction of the oil. This is done by a mechanical process and sometimes by a chemical process, though the mechanical method is highly preferred. Olive oil is a golden color and changes slightly due to whether it is extra virgin, or first cold pressed. The flavor of olive oil depends on how it was processed. Lower quality oils will taste mild, while high quality olive oils will have a robust flavor that is green, or may have a spicy quality. Extra virgin and first cold pressed or preferred. Olive oil lends a depth of flavor to any savory dish.
Garlic is used in cuisines around the world and is extremely popular for its depth of flavor. The garlic bulb forms underneath the soil and is harvested once it reaches maturity. The bulb typically has thin, dry, white and flaky skin, surrounding the individual cloves. Often there are 10-12 cloves to a bulb/head of garlic. The cloves are cream colored with a strong smell and flavor that is spicy and sharp. Garlic takes on a nutty flavor in addition, when cooked. It is used in countless dishes, sauces, breads and more.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
Lemon juice is made from the flesh of the pulpy yellow lemon fruit. The juice is squeezed from the flesh of the lemon and is a pale yellow color. The flavor is very sour and bright. Lemon juice is used in multiple cuisines around the world to brighten and enhance the flavors of the other ingredients. Lemon juice is used to make lemonade and goes well on fish. It has many uses.
Butter is made from churned cream, usually from a cow. It has a cream color and a texture that is smooth and melts easily. The flavor is mild and creamy. Butter is often sold in square sticks, or as a flat or round block. It is delicious on bread. It pairs better in baked goods than salted butter, due to its more neutral taste. It also makes an excellent cooking fat.
The peppercorn plant grows in tropical climate and produces tiny black fruit. The fruit is dried and become hard. At this point it is ground into a textured powder comprised of black and grey dots. It has a flavor that is spicy, pungent and sharp. Pepper is an extremely popular spice, especially in Western cuisines and lends a gentle heat to dishes. There are different varieties of black pepper and the flavor changes subtly because of this.
