Spinach Sallet

An excellent boyled sallet

To make an excellent compound boyl'd Sallet; take of Spinage well washt, two or three handfuls, and put it in fair water, and boyl it til it be exceeding soft and tender as pap; then put it into a Cullender, and drain water from it, which done with the back side of your Chopping-knife chop it, and bruise it as small as may be; then put it into a Pipkin with a good lump of sweet butter, and boyl it over again; then take a good handful of Currants clean washt, and put to it, and stir them well together, then put to as much Vinegar as will make it reasonable tart, and then with Sugar season it according to the taste of the Master of the house, and so serve it upon sippets.
--Gervase Markham, The English Housewife, 1615

3 bags spinach
1/2 cup currants
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

I used baby spinach, so I decided not to boil it first. Melt the butter in a frying pan, then wilt the spinach in it. Add the currants, sugar and vinegar.

Notes:
Spinach cooks down like nobody’s business. I’d use more next time

This is another redaction I lifted from Kirrily Robert. I might increase the vinegar.

 

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Copyright 2003, Abigail Weiner