Turkish · Lunch · Dinner
Turkish Spinach Stew with Minced Beef and Rice
Kıymalı Ispanak Yemeği
Tender spinach simmered with lean minced beef, sweet onion, tomato paste and a little rice until soft and savoury. It's served warm with a spoonful of garlicky yogurt, just as it's eaten in Turkish homes.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 37% · Fat 33% · Protein 30%
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Ingredients
For 4 servings- 750 g (about 2 large bunches)fresh spinach
- 200 glean minced beef (90% lean)
- 1 large150 gonion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup50 gwhite rice (short or medium grain)
- 1 tbsp16 gtomato paste
- 1 tbsp14 golive oil
- 1 1/2 cups360 ghot water
- 1 tsp6 gsalt
- 1/2 tspblack pepper
- 1/2 tspred pepper flakes (pul biber) (optional)
- 1 1/4 cups300 gplain low-fat yogurt, to serve
- 1 smallgarlic clove, crushed, for the yogurt (optional)
Steps
- 1
Trim the thick stems from the spinach, wash the leaves well in several changes of water to remove grit, then drain and roughly chop.
- 2
Rinse the rice in a sieve until the water runs clear and set aside.
- 3
Heat the olive oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat, add the minced beef and cook, breaking it up, for about 5 minutes until browned and no pink remains.
- 4
Add the chopped onion and cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring, until softened.
- 5
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- 6
Add the rice and the hot water, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- 7
Add the spinach in handfuls, stirring each batch until it wilts before adding the next.
- 8
Season with the salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes if using.
- 9
Cover and simmer on low heat for 12–15 minutes, until the rice is tender and the beef is cooked through to 71 °C / 160 °F; add a splash more water if it looks dry.
- 10
While it cooks, stir the crushed garlic, if using, into the yogurt.
- 11
Rest the stew off the heat for 5 minutes, then serve warm topped with the garlic yogurt.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- For a vegan version, replace the beef with 1 cup cooked green or brown lentils added with the rice, and top with a plain unsweetened plant-based yogurt.
- Use lean minced lamb or minced turkey instead of beef if that's easier to find or more to your taste.
- Swap the fresh spinach for about 450 g frozen whole-leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, to skip the washing and trimming.
- Use bulgur instead of rice for a nuttier texture, noting that bulgur contains gluten so the dish will no longer be gluten-free.
Storage
Cool the stew and refrigerate it in a covered container within 2 hours, then eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating until steaming hot with a splash of water. Keep the garlic yogurt separate in the fridge, add it only after reheating, and avoid freezing the yogurt.
Make ahead
You can wash, trim and chop the spinach a day ahead and keep it in the fridge wrapped in a dry towel. The whole stew can also be made a day in advance and reheated, with the garlic yogurt stirred together just before serving.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
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Allergens and nutrition
Contains: Milk
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (462 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 272 kcal | 59 kcal |
| Protein | 20.7 g | 4.5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 26.4 g | 5.7 g |
| of which sugars | 8.1 g | 1.8 g |
| Fiber | 5.2 g | 1.1 g |
| Fat | 10.4 g | 2.3 g |
| of which saturated | 3.3 g | 0.7 g |
| Sodium | 823 mg | 178 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
