Spinach, leek, garlic, and feta scramble

Contributed by Preston Maring, MD


Spinach, leek, garlic, and feta scramble

There must be something about fresh spinach. In close succession, my wife and a longtime patient of mine both suggested I do something with spinach. They buy big bags of it at the market and use it in many different dishes.

I thought I would do a frittata for a weekend breakfast the morning after a big rain, but it turned into a scramble.

If you have mature spinach, pull off the toughest stems. Baby spinach needs no preparation. Both can be washed like lettuce and spun dry. The leaves don't have to get as dry as they do for a salad as the water droplets help steam them while cooking.

Try this recipe! You can even just do this with extra garlic, no leeks, and some crushed red chilies and call it a side dish for dinner.

Servings: 2

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten (a good suggestion came in the comments to use one egg and three egg whites — this would reduce the fat per person)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (since you use a nonstick skillet, maybe a teaspoon of oil will work fine — even though olive oil is "good fat", it still has calories)
  • 2 large handfuls fresh spinach
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 leek, white and light green part thinly sliced
  • 2 ounces feta, crumbled (try 1 ounce instead of 2 to "skinny" this recipe even further)
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet. Sauté the leeks until they just start to brown, add the garlic, and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  2. Add the spinach. It will cook down to a much smaller volume. Don't fiddle with it too much as that slows down the cooking time. (I didn't add any more oil and I think that's where this turned into a scramble as I couldn't turn it over intact.)
  3. Add the crumbled feta to the beaten eggs. Season the egg mixture. Add it to the skillet. Let it cook a little then stir it so any uncooked egg gets its turn at the bottom of the pan.
  4. Serve with whole-grain toast and "no added sugar" preserves. This is a really good way to start a beautiful day.

Nutrition information (per serving)

  • Calories: 373
  • Total fat: 30 g
  • Saturated fat: 9 g
  • Trans fat: 0
  • Cholesterol: 448 mg
  • Sodium: 486 mg
  • Total carbohydrate: 10 g
  • Dietary fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 18 g

"Light" version made with egg whites and less cheese/olive oil

  • Calories: 153
  • Fat: 8 g
  • Saturated fat: 3 g
  • Trans fat: 0 g
  • Cholesterol: 118 mg
  • Sodium: 306 mg
  • Carbohydrate: 9 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 12 g