🇹 Ethiopian / Modern · Lentils, Beans & Vegetarian
🌿 Ethiopian Spinach Stew
ስፒናጭ ወጥ — Spinach Wat
Ethiopian Spinach Stew — baby spinach or fresh spinach cooked with onion, garlic, turmeric, and tomato in the Ethiopian style. A modern addition to the Ethiopian vegetable repertoire — faster-cooking than collard greens, ideal for urban kitchens.
Spinach wat is the urban cook's quicker alternative to Gomen — baby spinach needs no blanching and wilts in minutes, while still absorbing the Ethiopian aromatic flavours of garlic, turmeric, and onion.
Ingredients
Equipment: Wide pan
- 400g fresh spinach — washed
- 1 onion — diced
- 2 tomatoes — diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp salt
Method
- Heat oil. Cook onion until golden.
- Add garlic and turmeric. Stir 30 seconds.
- Add tomatoes. Cook 4 minutes.
- Add spinach in batches. Stir until each batch wilts.
- Cook 3 more minutes.
- Season.
Chef Tips
- Add spinach in batches — it seems like a huge amount before wilting.
- Do not over-cook — spinach needs only 5 minutes total.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Over-cooking — turns grey-green.
The Science
See ETH106 for green vegetable cooking science. Spinach wilts much faster than collard greens because it has no fibrous stem tissue and very high water content — the cells rupture quickly, releasing their water and collapsing.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- Very high in iron, vitamins A, C, and K.
- Folate from spinach.
- Very low calorie.
Cultural Note
Spinach wat is modern Ethiopia's practical concession to speed — where Gomen requires blanching and longer cooking, spinach delivers green nutrition in 15 minutes for the urban working cook.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Refrigerate 2 days.
Reheating: Briefly.
Serve with: On the fasting platter, As a light side