Spinacotta

This is an old recipe I came up with during my college days when I knew nothing about cooking. It was an experiment that turned out really well.

Ingredients (4 portions):

Spinach, frozen 10 oz package, thawed, drained well
Ricotta Cheese, 1 cup
carrot, 1 large
Onions, ground 1 to 2 tbsp.
Ginger, fresh 3-6 slices
Coriander, ground, 1/2 tbsp.
Cumin, ground, 1 tbsp
Lemon Juice, 2 tbsp.
Olive or Peanut Oil, 3 tbsp
Butter, 1/2 tbsp.
Water, 1/2 cup
Salt and Pepper to taste

Tools:

Frying pan: 10" or larger

Directions:

1. Quarter the onions and slice thinly.
2. Cut carrots into matchstick slivers. If you aren't big on matchstick-cutting, use 2mm thick slices instead.
3. Heat oil in pan and add onions, ginger, cumin and coriander. Combine well and let simmer until onions are clear.
4. Add water and carrots. Cover and bring to simmer. Cook 5-10 minutes, or until carrots just lose their crunch.
5. Add spinach and combine well. Cover and bring to simmer. Cook another 3-7 minutes, until spinach and carrots are fully cooked.
6. Mix in butter and ricotta cheese. Increase heat momentarily if necessary to "reduce" (eliminate excess liquid).
7. Remove from heat, let sit several minutes, then mix in lemon juice.

Serving Suggestions:

Entree: Serve hot as a vegetarian entree., with a baked potato or with fresh tomatoes on the side.

Side dish: Serve hot as a side dish, with chicken, hardboiled eggs, ham...

PitaCotta: (my favourite! ) Use as a pita bread filling (warm or cold), or, grab a fork and munch it right out of the container, bachelor style.

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