Spinach and potato gozleme ~ vegan

for the pastry but I cheated and used a rolled out pizza base we had - we are here on holiday with limited kitchen supplies. Filling is sauteed leek, frozen spinach heated to evaporate some water, dried dill weed and yesterday's boiled potatoes, peeled and smashed, salt. Served with squeeze of lemon. Simple but good thanks to good quality vegetables.

M'chicha Wa'nazi ( Spinach in Peanut Coconut Sauce )

Here's a delicious, simple way to serve spinach. It doesn't look so flash, especially with my typical lack of presentation, but it's very tasty and a great vegetarian comfort food for a rainy day like we've been having so many of. This is dish from Tanzania I found in one of my favourite cookbooks 'World Vegetarian Classics' by Celia Brooks Brown. Firstly, I love that everything I've made from this book has been great, but it also has the benefit of featuring authentic vegetarian dishes, not just adapted meat dishes, so they really stand up on their own. It also doesn't assume you can get hold of every exotic ingredient so provides lots of more easily accessible alternatives.

700g / 1 1½ lb fresh spinach, trimmed and thoroughly washed (or the equivalent in frozen spinach)

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp / 30g / 1oz  butter

1 large onion, chopped

1-2 fresh red chillies, deseeded if large, finely chopped

½ cup / 70 g / 2 ¾oz roasted peanuts

1 cup / 250g / 8 fl oz coconut cream

Place the spinach and salt in a large saucepan with a lid. Cover and place over medium heat. Use tongs to turn the spinach from time to time, until it is fully collapsed and wilted (or thawed, if using frozen). Drain thoroughly in a colander, then use a potato masher to push out as much moisture as possible. Cool slightly, then chop coarsely.

Return the pan to a low-medium heat and add the butter. When the butter has melted, add the onion and chillies and cook until the onion is soft and translucent.

Puree the peanuts with the coconut cream in a blender until fairly smooth. Pour into the saucepan, add a good pinch of salt and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir the spinach through the sauce until piping hot, then serve. Alternatively, reheat the spinach and serve with sauce poured over. This should be eaten with some sort of African mash (see below).

My Mash with what I had on had used potatoes, sweet potatoes and red kidney beans (for extra protein) but the book pairs it with any of three mashes from Africa: 

Irio, a dish from the Kikuyu tribe in Kenya. Irio is essentially mashed potatoes with kidney beans, corn and greens mashed in. 

Matoke banana mash from Uganda: In a saucepan place 4 unripe bananas/plantains (or 10-12 matoke bananas if you can find them), peeled and broken into pieces; 1 large tomato, finely chopped; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; ⅔ cup / 150 ml / 5 fl oz water; and ½ teaspoon of salt. Simmer, uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the bananas are very soft. Remove from the heat, add 1 Tbsp / 15 g /½oz butter and mash until smooth.

Or Ugali cornmeal mash which is a staple throughout Africa south of the Sahara:

Use a ratio of 1:1½ white cornmeal to water. Combine in a saucepan with salt, bring to the boil and cook, stirring regularly, for 20-30 minutes until creamy but stiff; add butter and serve with stew.

Spinach and Lentils with Pomegranate Sauce ( ghalieh esfanaj )

"This simple dish from the Caspian coastline of Northern Iran is tangy and delicious. Serve it with a rice pilau and yoghurt." - Arto der Haroutunian. 'Vegetarian Dishes from Across the Middle East'

l cup of dried whole lentils, washed

700g (1 1/2 lb) fresh spinach or 450g (1 lb) frozen leaf spinach

2 Tablespoons of olive oil or vegan butter

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon of salt

3 Tablespoons of pomegranate juice

Bring a large saucepan half-filled with lightly salted water to the boil, add the lentils and simmer until tender, about 30-40 minutes. Drain the lentils and set aside.

If using fresh spinach, wash it thoroughly; if using frozen, let it thaw. Squeeze excess moisture out of the spinach and chop it coarsely.

heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion, stirring frequently until it is golden brown. Add the chopped spinach, stir well and cover the pan. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the lentils, salt and pomegranate juice, then cover the pan and simmer for a further 20 minutes.

Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.