Spanakorizo | Greek Spinach and Olive Oil Rice

Wash the spinach in plenty of water three times and remove the thick stems. Do not throw them away; finely chop them and cook them with the onion if you like. Roughly chop the leaves into 3 cm pieces. Leave them in a strainer to drain off excess water.

Add the spinach leaves to the pot in three batches, adding the next batch once the previous one wilts and shrinks. After all the spinach is in, cook uncovered to evaporate most of the liquid it releases. There should be no pool of liquid at the bottom, or it will throw off the amount needed to cook the rice.

Pour in the hot vegetable broth. Once it boils, lower the heat and cook with the lid partly on. The rice should be tender to the bite but not dry; spanakorizo is meant to be spoonable. If it thickens too much, loosen it with ½ of a 200 ml measure of hot water.

Remove from the heat, stir in the chopped dill, and grind in the black pepper. Squeeze half the lemon directly into the pot and serve the rest in slices on the side. Let it rest, covered, for 5 minutes and serve warm.