Active Time

　　prep: under 10 minutes

　　In this remarkably tasty side-dish vegetable, instant stock powder provides a long-cooked depth of flavor in minutes. The rich creaminess of the white beans transforms frozen spinach into a healthful and delicious version of creamed spinach.

　　It's not just a side dish though: Use leftover "creamed" spinach as a sauce for pasta or grains (season a bit more heavily) or thin it with enough vegetable stotck to turn it into a soup.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1 tablespoon olive oil

　　1 cup coarsely chopped onions

　　1 3/4 cups cooked navy or cannellini beans or 1 (15-ounce) can navy or cannellini beans, drained (rinsed if nonorganic)

　　1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach

　　1 cup water

　　1 tablespoon instant vegetable stock powder

　　2 teaspoons dried dill or 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

　　1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

　　2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)

　　Freshly ground black pepper to taste

　　

Step 1

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Sauté the onions for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the beans, spinach, water, stock powder, dill, and salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Break up the block of spinach with a fork and stir well. Cook until the spinach is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender (or transfer in small batches to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth).

　　

Step 3

If the creamed spinach seems too thick, thin slightly with lemon juice, which will sharpen the flavors, or with water. Season with pepper to taste. Depending upon the consistency, serve either in small bowls or on plates.

　　Reprinted with permission from Short-Cut Vegan by Lorna Sass, copyright © 1997, 2008. Published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.