3 easy spinach and potato recipes

Vegetables fresh from the garden can be cooked on a slow, even heat in minimal liquid to conserve and enhance their goodness and flavour. Here are some easy methods to get the best flavour out of your garden-fresh potatoes and spinach.

The iron contained in spinach is more easily absorbed by the body when the spinach has been combined with orange juice. Here's a great, flavourful recipe combining spinach and orange juice.

• 2 to 3 carrots
• 8 spinach leaves (you may wish to substitute sliced beans or a bunch of asparagus for the spinach)
• Juice of one orange

1. Peel and slice the carrots, remove the central stalk from the spinach and chop the leaves.
2. Place the carrots in a heavy-based pot, top them with chopped spinach and pour over the orange juice.
3. Place the pot over a low heat at the back of the stove.
4. Cook for eight to 10 minutes or until the spinach is cooked.

1 medium potato per person, unpeeled (use a variety that can be scrubbed without losing its skin)

A common method of cooking potatoes is baking them. Be sure to fire the stove up beforehand to avoid delays — potatoes need a medium to hot oven.

1. Thread two to three scrubbed and dried potatoes on a metal skewer, and place them in the top half of the oven.
2. Bake in a moderate to hot oven for 40 minutes or until soft when pressed.
3. Remove them from the oven and slice one end of each with a shallow cross.
4. When the potato is gently squeezed in the middle this cross should open out to hold a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh herbs from the garden: chives or parsley is suitable.

Barbecues are ideal for baking potatoes so that they are crisp on the outside but soft in the centre.  You can also make this recipe at home in the oven.

• 2 large potatoes
• 15 to 30 ml (1 to 2 tbsp) olive oil

1. Peel and thinly slice the potatoes (two to three millimetre/1/16 to 1/8 inch thickness).
2. Brush a baking tray with some of the oil.
3. Starting with the thick-end slice of a potato, place the slices in a single layer on the tray, each slice overlapping by about two-thirds.
4. If desired, the slices can be arranged in an attractive spiral pattern.
5. Brush them with the remaining oil and bake them in a medium hot barbecue or oven on the top rack for 20 to 30 minutes or until they are brown and crisp around the edges.
6. Serves three to four.

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