Nutty Baked Spinach- #My Innovation

I hope that you see this recipe!! Just don't go by the name- because it has spinach in it! Even I hated spinach till today until I made this creative recipe as my lunch! It came out awesome. The minute I tasted it, I was speechless..."how can spinach be so tasty?!?" But, it was! It was a big hit. I love spinach in this way. I can have this daily :)

Yesterday, my mother brought loads of Spinach and I knew that from today, I have to swallow this horrible veggie once every week!! I hate the Indian Version of it so much that I literally swallowed it with water- such a pain it is! But, I had to eat it...I have no other option. So, I told my mother to leave a bunch of it for me and I will cook it my style after coming from school and so I did. I randomly picked up all the delicious ingredients from the kitchen and started cooking. I had a rough idea in my mind of what I was going to make but I wasn't sure of the outcome so I went on and took the risk, but ya it wasn't a bigger risk than eating the Indian version of Spinach!! :D  After it was half-cooked, I was sure that it is a big hit from its aroma. And, of course it came out so nice. :) :) My innovation got a great success. Honestly telling, I didn't search Google because I knew they would show Indian Version Recipe or the Pie one or the Spaghetti or the Salad! I wanted something different and hence I got! :) 

Prep Time: 10 min   Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Fresh Spinach Leaves- 15 to 20 (Washed Properly)

Mushrooms- 4 small sized (Sliced into thick pieces)

Olives- 7 to 8 (Cut into halves or you can even take the sliced ones)

Onion- 1 medium sized chopped longitudinally

Garlic- 4 cloves (finely chopped)
Bread Slices- (Brown or white) 3 slices

Cashewnuts- 10 to 12 

Almonds- 8

Red Chili Powder- 1/4 tbsp

Salt- as per taste 

Sugar- 1/2 tbsp

Olive oil- as required

Water- as required

Milk- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Take a saucepan and heat it for 20 seconds. Pour little olive oil and saute onions and garlic. After they turn golden- brown, add red chili powder and stir.
2. Then, grind the cashew nuts and almonds for 10 seconds in a mixer. You don't need to make them too powdery! 
3. Add the nutty powder in the saucepan stir them till all mixed. Also, add the milk. Add the spinach leaves, add some more olive oil and mix them very well and they will start shrinking after a minute. Everything will be combined. Then add sugar an salt and again mix.
4. After that, add olives and mix well. Then add mushrooms and mix. 
5. Switch off the flame and take little water in a bowl. Add one slice of bread and wet it, then squeeze all the water out. Do so with all of them. Then grease a microwave/ oven safe dish and grease it with olive oil.
6. Then take the wet bread slices and crumble them with hand. Take the micro/ oven safe dish and add the crumbles of bread slices so as to make a crust and sprinkle some olive oil, pepper & red chili powder over this crust. Over this, add the spinach mix. 
7. Bake for 6 to 8 min at 250 C. After that, the crust will be crunchy and the veggies will be crispy. And, your Nutty Baked Spinach is ready to be eaten! :)

Pictorial:

Take all the ingredients

Heat a pan 

Add olive oil

Add onion and garlic

Cook till golden-brown

Add red chili powder

Mix well

Take cashew nuts

Add almonds

Grind them 

Add the nutty powder to the saucepan

Combine it with the other ingredients

Add milk

Mix 

Add spinach leaves

Add olive oil

Add sugar and salt

Mix well

Add olives

Add mushrooms

Dip a slice of bread in water and squeeze out the water

Put all the wet bread slices in a bowl

Crumble with hand

Grease a micro/ oven safe dish with olive oil

Spread the crumbled bread over the dish

Add the veggie- nutty mix over it and bake for 6 to 8 min at 250 C

Enjoy!! :)