For a while I thought that the Spinach in my potager was going to be my second flop crop.  After my disappointment with the broad beans I didn’t want any more growing failures right now.  After all my spinach plants had battled through the winter being chomped back down every time they looked like flourishing.  There were times when I threatened just to pull the blighters out and use the space for something else but going away meant that they got a reprieve and wouldn’t you know they took advantage and suddenly established themselves as a viable crop.

The thing about growing spinach though is that you need a heap of plants to make a worthy meal.  Those green and nutrition rich plants wilt down to nothing in just a few minutes.   After all the effort the plants put into surviving I was determined to find a recipe where they could take centre stage.

It was  tough choice but I finally settled on a recipe that I could yield more goodies from my backyard pantry.  I know I’m in danger of sounding like Nigel Slater but it is a simple pleasure to be able to pick your vegetables and use them fresh there and then.  I hate to admit that I treat my vegetables with a little more respect and care than I do those that I picked up at the supermarket in town.

First up there is the important job of cutting off the roots and chomped leaves.  Nothing is wasted though that surplus vegetation goes right back into my compost bin to make a later contribution to future plants.  It became clear to me very quickly that the roots on my spinach were much longer and stronger than those you get on the spinach I buy in the shops. I’m starting to wish I had invested in one of those spray wash taps when we build the house to wash off the vegetables.

For the moment I give the roots a good wash using the outside tap before bringing the veges inside.  This is an operation that the bassets steer clear of. Water and hoses are not their favourite thing.  I also gathered in some eggs from the chickens and and a handful of herbs.  We don’t have any spring onions in the ground yet but these were some I picked up at the green grocer which were round and plump compared to the anorexic looking ones in the supermarket.

With the backyard pantry plundered it was time to see what we  had in the cupboard to contribute.  It was only when I laid out all the goodies did I realise how much of our food comes from New Zealand.  Olive Oil, lemon, salt, cheese and garlic.  I think only the cardamon pods and pepper came from elsewhere in the world.  It was thinking about the lemons that made me realise how bountiful a country New Zealand actually is – there are so many things that we grow here that you can’t in the UK.

Now feeling a tiny bit smug about the carbon footprint of this meal it was time to get going and create a feast for the worker.  I’d decided to create a spinach tortilla by adapting the recipe from Economy Gastronomy which uses mashed potato rather than the traditional sliced potato that the Spanish put in theirs. Centre stage of course is the spinach which wilted quickly which is just as well as for a moment the pan was overflowing with the green lusciousness.

It gave me quite a buzz to whisk, chop and stir in my backyard pantry ingredients. Who needs drugs when you can have simpler pleasures in life.

After mixing up all the ingredients you just wack it in a pan and sling it in the oven.  My style of cooking finesse.  I adapted the recipe by forgetting to put in the cardamon seeds and deciding at the last minute to dot some feta on the tortilla before it went into the oven.  The result was much better than I imagined.

This tortilla packed a punch. It was so full of flavours with the lemon and herbs throwing their weight around.  The feta added a salty flourish which I’d highly recommend.

All in all this was a dinner to delight in.  I was rather pleased with myself and will definitely be adding variations of this tortilla to my quick dinner repertoire.  I’m looking forward to trying some cold for my lunch tomorrow when I’m sure that herb combination will continue to deliver.

I was very pleased to have dismissed my original ideas for using the spinach.  This recipe allowed it to take centre stage in a way that it doesn’t always in other dishes.  I’m revising my seed order so I can plant a bed of spinach in the new kitchen garden.  Daring I know but a girl’s got to get some excitement in life.