There’s no one way to make the classic Greek dish spanakorizo, but all versions include rice, spinach or other dark leafy greens (by name, they must!), dill, and lemon. While many recipes call for first wilting fresh spinach, adding rice, and then cooking the two together, using frozen chopped spinach presents a couple of distinct advantages: One, it’s easier (no washing and drying leaves) and two, it lets you rein in the moisture level so you don’t end up with a soggy final product. (Be sure to squeeze that thawed spinach realllly well to expel excess water.)
Feel free to switch up your alliums—use an onion or a couple of leeks in place of the scallions, or add in some garlic for good measure—and to halve the dill. (As written, this recipe is for dill lovers ONLY.) To make this a meal, try it topped with crumbled feta, a poached or soft-cooked egg, tomato-cucumber salad, seared fish, and/or fried shallots.
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What you’ll need
Vegetable Peeler
$12 $10 At Amazon
Medium Saucepan
$50 $39 At Amazon
Mesh Sieve
$13 At Amazon
Kitchen Towels
$16 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
1
3
8
1
1½
1
1
Preparation
Step 1
Remove zest from 1 lemon in wide strips with a vegetable peeler or paring knife. Slice lemon in half; set aside.
Step 2
Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium. Add lemon zest and 8 scallions, thinly sliced, and cook, stirring often, until scallions are bright green and beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup basmati rice, rinsed, drained well, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, and half of 1 bunch dill, tough stems trimmed, finely chopped, and cook, stirring, until rice is coated in oil, about 30 seconds. Pour in 1¼ cups plus 2 Tbsp. water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and simmer until rice is nearly tender and water is absorbed, 13–15 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, place one 10-oz. package frozen spinach in a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium bowl and pour in boiling water to cover. Let sit until thawed, 5–10 minutes. Drain well and transfer to a clean kitchen towel; squeeze hard to expel as much excess moisture as possible. Transfer spinach to a cutting board and run through a couple times with a chef’s knife to finely chop.
Step 4
Remove pan from heat, uncover, and top rice with spinach. Re-cover and let sit 10 minutes to allow spinach to steam. Using a fork, fluff rice and incorporate spinach. Stir in remaining half of dill and juice from 1 reserved lemon half. Season with freshly ground black pepper.
Step 5
Transfer rice to a bowl and drizzle remaining 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil over.
Leave a Review
Reviews (22)
Back to TopHaven't made this yet but would definitely leave out the dill as I loathe it. I might add extra spinach and or feta.
Caroline
Virginia
3/6/2024
This was amazing although the 1 cup of rice does not suffice. This recipe should be doubled! The lemon peel in this recipe was the highlight of the dish. Definitely will be using this hack for other recipes. Fresh dill is a MUST. If I could eat dairy, I would add feta to this dish! I paired it with herby bone in pork chops! The next day, I threw in some left over lentils I had & topped it with a sunny egg. The flavor was fantastic.
Han
Long Island, New York
5/10/2022
Fantastic! I didn’t have nearly enough dill and subbed in fresh baby spinach. I had three helpings! Went great with salmon.
Anonymous
Charlottesville, VA
4/24/2022
This was very good. I added feta, substituted leek for some of the scallion, put a poached egg on top and served with sauteed trout. I'd like to see a bit more flavor - I didn't add all the dill. Will add more dill. And will look for more spices or other herbs to enhance flavor.
Wendy
Camden, ME
3/11/2022
Great weeknight recipe! Added feta at the end and topped it off with a fried egg. Perfect meal.
Jane
Durham, NC
3/8/2022
Yum, came out great, pretty similar to what I know from my family. Regarding a previous person’s review- my yiayia DOES make hers with scallions as that’s how she was taught, and now all aunts use frozen spinach in theirs. All of them born and raised in Greece so I’m content with this recipe’s technique and ingredients!
Tim
New York, NY
3/2/2022
As someone who has been making spanakorizo for more than sixty years and who learned how to make from others who had been making it fifty years before that, I can recognize this dish but would not call it authentic, no matter if there are many ways to make it. (1) Greeks use onions, not scallions. (2) I have never had lemon peel cooked in it, and lemon is always squeezed on it after it is presented to the table. (3) Frozen spinach, when there are endless bags of wonderful washed spinach in any supermarket (baby or large). I hav no objections to changing recipes, but just do not call it what it is not.
Panayi
New Haven, CT
3/1/2022