This Paleo Spinach Cake recipe is perfect for Passover. We like it so much though, that we eat it all year round. This easy recipe is made with 7 healthy ingredients –spinach, eggs, pine nuts, currants, garlic, oil, and salt. It’s so simple that you can throw it together in just a few minutes.
Our weekly CSA share kicked in recently and we received a ton of fresh organic spinach! For those of you who aren’t familiar, “CSA” stands for community supported agriculture. This relatively new socioeconomic concept changes the way food is produced, distributed, and sold, creating small scale closed markets for farmers in which the consumer participates in the risk and rewards of the farm.
One of the great benefits of the CSA is receiving produce the day it is picked. CSA’s also give farmers more time to do what they do best –grow food. By cutting out the middle man, farmers receive more money for their crops, and save time by not having to market produce to stores. Earlier this year my family purchased a “share” in this season’s crop from Abbondanza. We receive organic vegetables straight from the farm each week during the harvest months.
The bounty of our farm share sends me rummaging through my recipes in search of culinary solutions to vegetable overload. The biggest issue has been spinach. What to do with the several pounds of spinach crowding out the other greens in the veggie drawer of my fridge? Spinach cake of course!
Spinach Cake
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds spinach, thoroughly washed, leave stems on if they are not tough
- 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil or olive oil
- 1 cup pine nuts
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup currants
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
Instructions
- Wilt spinach in a large covered saucepan over low heat (do not add water)
- Drain and cool, then squeeze moisture out of spinach
- Place spinach in food processor and pulse until coarsely blended, then set aside
- In an 9 inch cast iron skillet, warm 3 tablespoons oil, add pine nuts and sauté until golden brown
- Add garlic to pan and sauté an additional minute
- Add currants to pan and sauté an additional minute
- In a large bowl, combine pine nuts mixture, blended spinach, eggs, and salt
- Spread mixture into a greased 7 x 11 inch baking dish
- Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes
- Serve
This spinach recipe is based on Claudia Roden’s Tortino di Spinaci. She is my all time favorite cookbook author. I often hear Roden speaking about the history of Jewish food on NPR. She is basically a food historian, as well as a culinary genius.
I hope you enjoy Paleo Spinach Cake as much as we do. Here are some of my other Paleo Passover recipes:
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Sam says
A bit pricey with pine nuts, has anyone tried it with other nuts? Thisnking of subbing walnuts in next time.
Nikasha says
I just made this again last night. So good! It’s a winner every time. I use cranberries instead of currants, and it’s delish.
@Alexis, I get 6 pieces out of 1 recipe. They are perfect for work lunches. If I’m having it with no other side dishes, I eat 2 pieces. Otherwise 1/6 recipe is a nice portion size. I like them straight out of the fridge (as well as straight out of the oven).
Alexis says
Okay for these spinach cakes… Are the only good at room temperature? how many are a serving would you say… Also, what if I wanted to make couple dozen and then warm them up at work… do you think they would still be good? I’m trying to find recipes that are great for bringing to work and thought these would be a great option! Please let me know!
bob says
I wasn’t sure how the currants would go in there since I am not a big fan of dried fruit in savoury dishes. I subbed in sultanas since we didn’t have any currants and I would have to say it really makes the dish. Nice and simple way to add a bit of sweetness. Thanks for the recipe.
Cassandra says
PS. I also used 2-10oz boxes of organic frozen chopped spinach. Worked wonderfully!!!
bob says
I also used frozen spinach and it worked well for me too = )
Cassandra says
I made this dish tonight and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!! I am always looking for yummy ways to make spinach and this one is 5 star!!! I will definitely be making this one over and over. I will pass the link on to MANY of my friends, too!! Thanks, Elana!!!!
(I added a cup of diced mushrooms in the beginning…. and substituted golden raisins, chopped…. delish!)
Erica says
Made this last night for Passover, outstanding and super easy to make. This one is a keeper
gulie says
Somewhere related to Eleanas pantry i saw a comment on how SPINACH is a food that releases HISTAMINES. I think there were other foods in the list. Since I was told NEVER to eat spinach again because i was so allergic to it, I’d LOVE to have that list to pass on to others with food allergy/sensitivity. thanks so much Ps. I am now so well that I DO eat the baby spinach leaves about once a month now.
QueenJellyBean says
Spinach is not on the histamine food list that I foundm but thanks for reminding everyone to check their diets for these foods if they need to:
http://www.michiganallergy.com/food_and_histamine.shtml
Jenna says
I can’t even explain how delicious this is! It’s perfect! I want it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! I’ll even take it for dessert! :)
Rebekah says
Elana,
Thank you for this recipe! I just made it for an early dinner, but I used pecans instead(since it was on a whim). I am in love!!