Wilted spinach with golden raisins and pine nuts

This tasty spinach recipe originates from the Italian Riviera. The Italians seem to love spinach; I remember one week in late October when we stayed in Rome and all the restaurants had every day wilted spinach as their vegetable side, contorni.

The golden raisins and sautéed pine nuts give added flavour to this side which goes nicely with simply prepared salmon or other fish and new potatoes or rice mixture.

2 servings

2- 3 handfuls of baby spinach leaves, pref. organic

2 tbsp. golden raisins

3 tbsp. pine nuts

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 shallot, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

Freshly ground black pepper

Cover the raisins with boiling water and set aside to get plump.

Warm the olive oil over medium- low heat in a large saucepan and gently sauté the pine nuts until golden, about 5- 10 minutes. Remove them from the oil and set aside.

Add the onion and garlic to the saucepan and cook for about 5- 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft but not browned.

Wash and dry the spinach leaves or use a bag of washed baby spinach leaves. Add them to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted.

When the spinach is done, drain the raisins and add them together with the pine nuts to the saucepan. Add a few grindings of black pepper and divide n the plates.