Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson makes sure we all get our greens with surprising ways to enjoy spinach

Truffled spinach-and-potato croquettes (below)

This recipe is a great way of using up leftover mashed potatoes. Add 250g of wilted and chopped spinach, 75g of grated Parmesan, seasoning and a drizzle of truffle oil to 450g of cold mashed potatoes and mix well. Using your hands, roll spoonfuls of the mixture into small sausages and dip them in seasoned plain flour, followed by beaten egg and then breadcrumbs. Repeat until you’ve used all the potatoes. Fry in olive oil and butter and serve immediately.

Eggs florentine Dutch baby

Preheat your oven to 180˚C and pop a cast-iron frying pan in it to warm. Using an electric whisk, mix together 100g of plain flour, 3 eggs, 150ml of milk and a teaspoon of sea salt. Melt a generous knob of butter in the warmed pan, swirling it all around. Once the batter is frothy, pour it into the pan and bake in the oven for about 20–25 minutes—the mixture should puff up. Five minutes before your Dutch baby is ready, wilt two handfuls of spinach with a little olive oil and seasoning and fry an egg, keeping the yolk runny. Remove the Dutch baby from the oven and top it with the spinach and egg, then serve.

Spinach-and-artichoke dip

Wilt 400g of spinach in a colander using boiling water, then drain well in a tea towel. Mix the spinach with 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 280g of chargrilled artichoke hearts (drained, from a jar), 100g of mascarpone, the juice of half a lemon, 100g of grated Parmesan and seasoning. Coarsely purée using a stick blender, then add single cream to bring it to a dip consistency. Warm in a low oven, using an ovenproof dish, and serve with thin slices of toasted ciabatta.