Spinazie met soldaatjes

If you have never visited Marianne Orchard's blog,  Like A Sponge, I highly encourage you to do so. Orchard, a British native who makes her home in the Netherlands, captures the Dutch spirit with kindness but with a very clear view of what makes us different or stand out, and she does this with a great sense of humor. Her latest post, Dutch Chorus at the Checkout, is very recognizable, and I trust for many of you it may too. I read her post with a smile on my face, and was encouraged to see that the thrifty spirit is still alive and well!

Marianne's purchase at the grocery store was spinazie, spinach, and it reminded me of a traditional dish called Spinazie met Soldaatjes, spinach with soldiers, these last ones being fried strips of bread, not the military kind. Spinach is a tricky vegetable to serve kids, right along with spruitjes and boerenkool, but made from fresh produce and with a splash of fresh cream, it may work just fine. And if they don't eat it, try the traditional Dutch approach of mashing the veg with boiled potatoes and a big helping of appelmoes, apple sauce! Works every time :-)

Spinazie met soldaatjes
2 eggs
2 lbs fresh spinach
2 slices of bread, day old
1 tablespoon butter
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
Generous splash of cream (optional)

Boil the eggs in water, for 8 to 10 minutes, rinse with cold water. Let cool for a minute, then peel and slice.

Wash the spinach and remove any sand, hard ends of the stem or wilted leaves. Cut the korstjes, the crusts, off the bread and cut it into strips. Melt half of the butter in a pan, shake the water off the spinach and add to the pan, stir once or twice, cover and leave on low heat to wilt the leaves.

Stir the spinach. Heat the rest of the butter in a small frying pan and fry the bread on either side until golden brown. Taste the spinach, add a pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir. If you wish, you can add a splash of heavy cream at this point, stir, and bring up to temperature.

Serve the spinazie with the egg slices and the soldaatjes.