The Zeoli Way of Cooking Spinach

Spinaci allo Zeoli
Spinach with garlic was Sam Zeoli’s favorite vegetable. His mother Madalena used to make it a lot. When I was just a kid, about 11 or 12 years old, my parents and I were returning from Queens (NY) where my father had just visited my paternal granddad, Antonio, in the hospital where he was being treated for a serious illness. Needing supper, we stopped at a nearby diner – one of those unique New York eateries having lots of home-made specialties, a big variety of vegetables, and lots of palate pleasers – diners are a culinary institution of the New York metropolitan area – if you have not yet been to one, you ought not miss the chance!. The vegetable that my father ordered was spinach with garlic and olive oil; he asked my mother why she hadn’t made it in a while – he told her he really enjoyed it.
At that age I was not as fond of raw garlic as the rest of my family, and after Sam said that, I added that I liked it too, but without the raw garlic chunks. I used to pick out all the garlic and put it at the side of my plate! After my revelation, Gilda would then sauté the garlic just enough to retain its flavor but remove the pungency, and then add it to the spinach. I loved spinach after she began to do that!
To prepare spinach, she would clean it and then boil it until just softened (She also used frozen, in which case she cooked it just enough until it separated). Then she drained it thoroughly, placed it in a bowl, and then added the briefly sautéed garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, and extra-virgin olive oil. This spinach was great hot, cold, or at room temperature. I remember my sister Madeleine making a cold spinach panino on some Italian bread at our Syosset house – a delicious panino to the last morsel.
I often have my spinach prepared like my mother’s – I even prepare other greens like that, such as Swiss chard, cavolo nero (dino kale), and collards. Here is a slight variation I sometimes prepare which is just as delicious – you ought to give both a try if you haven’t already!
Ingredients:
2 lbs of cleaned fresh spinach, some chopped and some not (I like varied texture)
Extra-virgin olive oil
5-6 toes of garlic, coarsely chopped
About 1 t of dried oregano or 3 sprigs of fresh, leaves removed from stems and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
In a large frying pan or wok, heat oil on medium flame. Put in the oregano and garlic; keep stirring until garlic just starts to become golden –not too brown, however. Add cleaned and dried spinach to pan, stirring constantly, and raise flame to medium high. The spinach is done as soon as it is cooked down – let any water evaporate from pan. Salt and pepper to desired taste.
Serve hot or cooled.
Buon appetito!