WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- The E. Coli outbreak in fresh spinach is clearly a catastrophe for farmers. Many of them are now plowing under their crops that would otherwise contribute to a multimillion dollar business.
The United States produces 4 percent of the global market and is the world's second-largest grower of Popeye's favorite vegetable. Pickers, packagers, truckers and stores are also suffering.
But perhaps the disaster will give us consumers an incentive to explore the other good-for-you greens that are out there.
It's hard to beat the nutritional profile of spinach, packed as it is with beta carotene, vitamin C, folate and iron. Only dandelion greens (spring brings in the best crop) come close with just slightly less beta carotene, but a lot less in quantity of the other nutrients.
This is not to suggest that those other leaves you see in the supermarket produce section aren't extremely good for you -- just that spinach does provide a good shortcut to packing in minerals and vitamins.
Still, we aren't going to be eating it fresh for a while. So give the rest a good look.
How long since you paid any attention to kale or collard greens? Kale has 53 milligrams of vitamin C, collard greens 35 mg, but spinach only 18 mg. Increasingly, produce departments are selling beets complete with their greens. Don't throw these out. They contain 36 mg of vitamin C.
In Greek and Middle Eastern cooking they are as much prized as the glorious bulb. Wash the leaves, then sweat them gently in a covered pan with a little finely chopped garlic and olive oil. Leave to cool to room temperature, dress with a squeeze of lemon, sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve as a salad.
Kale, collard and mustard greens can be treated the same way but respond even better to the Southern treatment of stewing them slowly with a ham hock to make a thick, soupy stew. Or stewy soup. Add some potatoes cut in chunks, a can of black beans, some red-pepper flakes and serve with a good squeeze of lemon and you have a nutritious meal in a bowl that doesn't break the bank.
Wherever the current outbreak of E. coli in fresh spinach began, what is particularly alarming is that it is the 20th time in 10 years that greens from Monterey County have been contaminated with this particular deadly strain of the bacteria.
In November 2006 the Food and Drug Administration wrote to everyone involved in every aspect of the business, from Salinas Valley growers to shippers, telling them they had to improve the safety of the produce.
Under the circumstances, the letter was restrained.
"In view of continuing outbreaks," it said, "we encourage firms to consider modifying their operations accordingly to ensure that they are taking the appropriate measures to provide a safe product to the consumer."
Kale, collard and mustard greens have a strong personality that can take those more familiar with the tentative flavor of spinach some getting used to. If their bitterness is more than you can stand, and you miss your spinach dreadfully, you can always fall back on the frozen or canned variety.
The American Frozen Food Institute has just dispatched a reassuring letter to vegetable processors, the Food Safety and Security Committee and more, saying, "The literature clearly indicates that blanching and cooking of frozen spinach eliminates any risk which may be posed by pathogeni E. coli. ... Additionally, frozen spinach is NOT a ready-to-eat produce like fresh spinach. Preparation instructions call for it to be thoroughly cooked before serving. This will assure that the product is safe for consumption."
Here's a wonderful recipe not diminished by the use of frozen spinach (which I find preferable in texture to the canned version).
-- Eggs Florentine
-- Serves 2
-- 8 ounces frozen spinach
-- 4 large fresh eggs
-- 1 ounce flour
-- 1½ ounces butter
-- 1/2 pint milk
-- 4 ounces cheddar cheese, grated, plus 1 ounce grated for the topping
-- freshly grated nutmeg
-- salt and pepper to taste
-- Preheat oven to 375 F.
-- Cook spinach according to packet instructions, squeeze out any excess water, spread over the bottom of a baking dish and grate over a little nutmeg, then cover and keep warm in the oven.
-- Melt the butter, stir in the flour, then slowly add the milk, whisking to make a white sauce.
-- Add cheese and a little more nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, and stir frequently over low heat for 3 minutes to smooth and thicken.
-- With the back of a serving spoon, make four depressions in the spinach and crack an egg carefully into each.
-- Pour the cheese sauce over, add the remaining grated cheese, and bake 15-20 minutes till bubbly and beginning to brown.
