SPINACH CHEESE COBB LOAF

Family get togethers are my fave. There is nothing so symbolic or uniting as breaking bread together.

I got this spinach cheese cobb loaf recipe off Hannah Marshall's dad Les when we were about 11. Random name drop but I hate modifying recipes and not crediting the originator! The beauty of this vegetarian recipe lies in it's simplicity. All the flavours are good. In whatever ratios you cook it in, it is literally idiot proof. No cooking skills required, the ingredients do the work for you.

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Speaking of Dad's, mine actually requested this for lunch on Sunday (where above photo was snapped) and my Dad is a hard out carnivore. Dead animals in every meal, I kid you not. I still love cooking to please I just don't love cooking meat. I was quite honoured Dad wanted this dish to serve my cousins coming over to show off the new puppy to Edward instead of the typical Sunday roast.

It must be good if Dad can skip meat for it! You can vary the dairy to make it cheesier or creamier to suit but you need at least 2 bags of spinach. You could even go more. This ratio works for me but I make it according to whatever I have in the fridge on that day and the only trick is to avoid over filling the loaf. The amount of veg and dairy below neatly fills it.

This recipe works best with a variety of cheeses. Cheddar and swiss are my fave bases but not afraid to add a nugget of blue or brie to spice things up a little bit. Not too much tho. It's a decadent dish.

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You will use:

1 onion

2 cloves NZ garlic chopped or crushed

2 bags of baby spinach leaves (chopped frozen or fresh works good too!)

250g sour cream

1 cup to 1.5cup various cheese

I cobb loaf, hollowed, Slices of hollowed soft bread filling and sliced crispy lid to serve.

Onion and nz garlic low heat, gentle cook in olive oil or butter to clear. Tip the baby spinach into the pan and place the lid on top to wilt the leaves with steam. When leaves have shrunk back into the pan, tip the tub of sour cream on top and stir to mix. Cube or grate 1-1.5cup of various cheeses. Tip second bag of spinach into the pan and sprinkle cubes or grated cheese. Pop the lid back on to wilt leaves and soften cheese. Stir to combine.

When fully mixed remove from the heat and pour into the bread cavity. Top with cheese slices and tuck slices into the side of the loaf to prevent filling from spilling down the sides. As it melts, the cheese will seal the lid of the bread to the top of the bread case keeping the filling inside. Unless you made went off recipe and made way too much ;)

Wrap it in foil in case and then into the oven on 120 if you have guests and you will be chatting for hours. Just pull it out after an hour or two later or whenever you are ready to start eating. 150-180 degrees celsius for 30-40 minutes or a quick blast for 20 mins at 200-220 if people really must eat immediately.

You can also add bacon at the onion stage if you are a pork eater, mushrooms of all kinds work well after the onion in this recipe too.

BEETROOT HUMMUS WITH ORANGE & MINT (V)

I always serve the Spinach Cheese Cobb Loaf with something quite clean or fresh to give my palette a breather. When I binge on dairy there is hell to pay with eczema or asthma or upset tummy so I like to have another dip on hand to break up the richness of the spinach cream cheese filling. My beetroot hummus with orange and mint is the perfect mouth freshener to accompany this dish. Also great with toasted flat bread fyi. The hummus is also vegan which can be handy to serve at any meal!

Into the ninja:

1-2 cloves of NZ garlic

1 orange juiced or skinned and seeded

1-2 tsp of himalayan salt

Many glugs of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (any olive oil will do, but I like the spiciness of EVOO for this)

Splash of Apple Cider Vinegar (any brand)

2-3 baby beetroot (I used Leaderbrand sealed pouch for this recipe)

Blitz until smooth. Taste. If it's not "orangey" enough, grate a little orange rind into the mix.

Then add:

1 can of chickpeas drained (I used organic in the tutorial but any will do)

If too thick, shake the ninja, add more EVOO or ACV

When at the desired consistency, add a handful of fresh mint. Don't add dry mint. It will taste weird.