Food: an English girls take on spinach rice

When it comes to cooking Cypriot food, there are two ways of doing it. The traditional Cypriot way, or my way, which is the English girl trying to cook Cypriot food and failing miserably way. I usually end up with a ridiculously messy kitchen and a vaguely Cypriot style dish. Lets take spinach rice as a case in point. 

Spinach rice, otherwise known as Spanakorizo (σπανακόρυζο) is for me, one of those creamy, hot Cypriot comfort food dishes that would be perfect on a freezing cold winters day and can be served as a side dish or as a meal in its own right. It should be made with onions, rice, tomatoes and spinach.

There is a great recipe on one of my favourite food blogs, Souvlaki for the Soul which is the work of Peter, a photographer who blogs about food and travel, all the while tapping into his Greek heritage. I could spend hours here, pouring over the fantastic recipes and being mesmerised by the beautiful photographs of food; two of my favourite things!

So instead of following a recipe for my spinach rice, I decided to throw caution to the wind and go with the flow and voila. Spinach rice by an English girl. The boyfriends grandmother would be so disappointed if she saw this. Because in Cyprus grandmothers are queens of the kitchen. Actually most grandmothers around the world are queens of the kitchen...why is that? 

So my spinach rice has no tomato, but does have rice, spinach and sweetcorn. For flavour I also added some olive oil, wholegrain mustard, lemon and salt. 

I promise one day I will cook a Cypriot dish that I don't put my own spin on. Until then, I will enjoy the cooking to the boyfriends granny. Well I have to do my research right!?