Spinach rice with feta — a Honey & Co recipe

This is a dish in two parts that will take you on a little Mediterranean trip. We start in Greece with spanakorizo — spinach rice — a dish that is considerably more than the sum of its parts. Brought together, these humble ingredients produce something that is not so much a rice dish as a thick soup or sloppy (in the best possible way) stew; an unctuous bowlful of pearly, yielding grains and silky strands of slow-cooked spinach suspended in a thick starchy liquor which should not have much flavour but does, thanks to the simple but effective seasoning of onion, garlic, olive oil, dill and dried mint.

It all comes together quite quickly, without much effort and is best served in a deep bowl, handheld on a sofa, at the end of a chilly day. We suggest a few toppings you might like to add, though for us all are non-negotiable: a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkling of chilli flakes and a crumbling of rich, tangy, salty feta to melt into the liquid. We also recommend you resist the urge to go for seconds and save the leftovers for the following day, which is the next leg of the journey.

Part two takes us across the Ionian Sea from Greece to Italy, and turns our spanakorizo into arancini. The leftover rice is now a sticky, gloopy mass (again, a good thing), and nothing is easier or makes more sense than rolling it into a ball with a chunk of cheese in the middle, coating it in egg and breadcrumbs and dunking the whole thing in hot oil until the shell is crisp, the rice is hot and the cheese inside melting and oozing.

You can serve with our current obsession — Dalamara’s Xinomavro from Paros, Greece — and maybe go for your favourite Nebbiolo the next night, to match the Italian theme.

Spinach rice with feta

Dinner for four, or for two with next day rice ball dinner

A note on rice

As any Greek yaya will tell you, the only rice for this, or any other Greek dish, is Carolina (endearingly pronounced Kah-Ro-Lee-Na, and not like the American state). This may be hard to come by, so we use arborio with fantastic results.

1. In a large, deep frying pan or sauté pan, heat the olive oil with the finely diced onions, garlic and salt. Sauté on a medium-low heat to soften the onions till they are translucent and fragrant, then add 300g of the spinach, saving 100g for later. Turn up the heat and add 40g of the chopped dill (reserve 20g for later), dried mint and black pepper, and then cover the pan to wilt the spinach. If it all fits, cover and cook for four minutes. (If it seems too much in one go, add half the spinach, wilt for two minutes and add the rest after that.)

2. Remove the lid and stir. The spinach should be completely wilted. Add the rice and salt and mix again, then pour over the boiling water and reduce to low heat. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

3. Remove the lid again and add remaining spinach, dill and lemon juice. Cover and cook for five minutes. Stir everything again, then remove from the heat, cover and rest for 10 minutes before serving.

4. Serve with crumbled feta sprinkled over the top, some chilli flakes and lemon wedges. Leftovers should be chilled in the fridge for the next day.

To make rice balls

1. Taste the rice — it may need a bit more salt after a night in the fridge. Divide it into walnut sized balls, push a small cube of cheese in the middle of each one and roll in the flour, then the egg, then breadcrumbs and fry in deep oil until crispy all over. Eat hot.

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