Spinach and potato stew (Σπανάκι με πατάτες)
A hearty vegan stew made with potatoes and greens in a tomato based sauce
This spinach and potato stew, also called Bonamatsi (Μποναμάτσι), is a dish common in the northern part of Greece, and not necessarily where our parents are from. Still, this was a meal that we would occasionally have growing up, particularly on fasting days. In fact, it was most often served in the days before Christmas, probably because a bowl of bonamatsi was filling and warming, perfect for December in Canada. Holiday fasting periods aside, this was also a dish often made on Fridays, competing with the other staple vegan (and lenten) meal, fakes. We now understand that by the time Friday rolled around our parents were relying on simple and straightforward meals to end the work week with.
Spinach, when cooked as it is in this recipe, has the capacity to become luxurious. That really is the best way we have found to describe the soft but not mushy texture, the subtle yet pronounced taste, and the capacity for the spinach leaves to wrap around anything they are cooked alongside. Spinach is sexy!
Helpful hints
Fresh spinach is ideal for this recipe. If you must use frozen spinach be sure to thaw it out and drain it as much as possible. Otherwise, your spinach and potato stew may be too watery.
We like to use yellow fleshed potatoes in most of our recipes, but feel free to use the potato of your choice (or what you have handy). Red skinned potatoes would be lovely too, as would russets. We would draw the line at sweet potatoes though; we think that might be gross.
If you are eating dairy, then serving this stew with a nice piece of feta would be perfect. Whatever you do, don’t forget the bread. This meal has so much bread dunking potential.
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Spinach and potato stew (Σπανάκι με πατάτες)
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 3-4 green onions, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 20-25 ounces fresh spinach, washed and chopped about 600 grams
- 1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
- 4-6 medium sized potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- lemon optional
Instructions
- In a large pot heat the olive oil and add the chopped yellow onion and spring onions. Cook over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the onion from burning.
- Add the chopped parsley to the pot, and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Next add the potatoes to the pot along with the tomato sauce and 1 cup of water. Season with the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir occasionally to make sure that the potatoes do not stick to the bottom of the pot. Do so carefully as to not break up the potatoes. If your pot is getting too dry during the cooking process, add a little more water, 1/4 cup at a time.
- Add the chopped spinach, cover, and cook until the spinach is wilted, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat, and let sit uncovered, for approximately 10-15 minutes, to allow the sauce to thicken.
- Serve, and squeeze some lemon juice over each serving, if desired.
- Enjoy!
If you make this recipe, rate it!
Have to add this to my stash of Mia Kouppa recipes. You have the knack of making the reader taste your recipes. They’re not just a list of ingredients.
Thaks
Oh wow! Thank you so much for saying that Kathryn 🙂 We really appreciate you taking the time to write. We hope that you love this recipe as well; it is one of our favourites.
This looks really delicious!
Thanks so much Dorothy! We really hope you give it a try, and love it 🙂
I just tried this recipe and it was so tasty! My 6 year old is a big meat eater, but I had him try it and he asked for seconds. Thanks for the recipe!
You have made us so happy Andrea. Knowing that our recipe was loved by your child makes us feel so great, especially when the recipe is a healthy one like this spinach and potato stew. Thanks for taking the time to write, and we are thrilled that you are happy with the recipe 🙂
Simple and tasty, great recipe!
Thank you so much!
Just made this tonight, AMAZING to say the least!! Thanks for a great recipe!
Yeah!! So happy that you tried the recipe and loved it. It’s definitely one of our favourites 🙂 Hope you find more to love here 🙂
Language is a little bit different in Australia! Does tomato sauce mean ketchup (surely not?). Or passata?
Hi Mary Ann, we are learning that this is the case!! When we say tomato sauce, we mean something that would be similar to passata. Thanks for asking 🙂
Delicious! I made this for the first time tonight and it will be on my rotation list. I added an extra cup of water and squeezed in an entire lemon. So good!
So happy to hear that Sophia!! Thank you for trying our recipe, and your addition of lemon sounds super great!!
This was so delicious! I made it to use up a mixture of greens rom the farmers market, and to try a beautiful bottle of Greek olive oil. What a treat! It was especially tasty at room temp. A second time I was out of parsley, so I used some fresh dill, arugula and cilantro. This version was also delicious. Next time I’ll try this with mustard greens.
Hi Christine! We are so happy that you tried our recipe, and that you loved it! We love that you changed it up a bit to use what you had on hand! Hope you continue to find much to love and be inspired by here with us 🙂 xoxo Helen & Billie