The Promised Spinach

I thought I was going to forget to post this recipe as promised in the ‘The Happiness Clause,’ so I set an alarm for three minutes after publishing it.

This is one of the things that came from my efforts in project Rescue Mother and it has made the whole thing worth it.

Zuma’s Spinach is the mushed up one, not to be mistaken for the uncooked spinach version at Roka. I believe it’s called horenso no goma-ae at both though (it’s caused major disappointments with past ordering).

Anyway, it happens to be the one dish to tip Zuma as the top of Mum’s restaurant favourites, so I thought I’d give it a go. There’s no recipe online that looks remotely like the original, and I’m thrilled to bring it to the masses. I count it as my greatest achievement to date, and I’m not even ashamed to admit it.

Here goes:

One large packet of spinach (portion size is the same as Zuma, so it serves two as a starter. Followed by a huge Zuma meal. I’d double up).

Cook the spinach on a pan with no oil until completely stringy.
Let cool.

Once cooled; squeeze the living daylights out of it so there is absolutely no water. I did it for three mins then set aside and then the same again.

For the dressing:

In a bowl, dollop three tablespoons of tahini. Ours had separated, so it was quite thick. Maybe scrape the bottom of your pot to get the globby bits.

Add one quick squeeze of half a lemon (tiny amount!).

Half a teaspoon soy sauce.

Two teaspoons Rice Mirin.

Two teaspoons white rice vinegar.

Mix mix mix.

Taste.

Add more of whatever u need (mirin for sweet, rice vinegar for less stodgy). Avoid adding more soy or lemon.

Then stir in as much or as little as you like with the spinach, top off with some sesame seeds and boom! Irasshaimase!

*Serve cold.