SOYA GRANULES WITH SPINACH (Turkish, Vegan)

 

 

Ingredients  ( 4 servings )

1 ½ lb (700 gr) spinach     1 cup soya granules     1 medium onion 

1 large ripe tomato     3 tbsp olive oil     ¼ cup hot water     Salt, pepper

Serving suggestion: Serve with freshly ground black pepper.

 

Instructions

1.   Soak the soya granules in boiling water for half an hour. Drain and gently squeeze the liquid out of the soya granules.

2.  Clean and wash the spinach. If you are using frozen spinach prefer whole leaves and skip this step.

3.  Chop the onion and tomato finely. You can run the tomato in a food processor. Do not drain the liquid.

4.  You do not need to chop the spinach. You can break the leaves and stems into half if too large.

5.  Heat the olive oil in a pan. Sauté the onions for about 5 minutes until they become transparent. 

6.  Add the soya granules and sauté for 5 minutes.

7.  Add the tomato and mix well.

8.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

9.  Cook on medium-low heat, uncovered, for about 10 minutes mixing occasionally until all liquid evaporates.

10.  Add the spinach. Mix.

11.  Add the hot water. You can check liquid levels as the spinach cooks. There should be very little liquid left in the pot when done. Frozen spinach may release enough water so you may not want to add the additional amount.

12.  Cover the pan and cook on medium-low heat until the spinach wilts, for 3-5 minutes or to your desired crispness/softness.

13.  Serve with freshly ground black pepper.

 

NOTES: The original dish is made with ground beef, veal or lamb. It turned out amazingly well with soya granules.  The recipe for soya granules, a substitute for ground beef/veal/lamb which is often used in Turkish cooking, keeps well in the fridge for two days and can be used to make a variety of dishes. You can use this recipe link to prepare it in advance and add it to zucchini, eggplants, potatoes, spinach and other vegetables.

BASIC SOYA GRANULES RECIPE FOR TURKISH COOKING (Turkish, Vegan )