Creamed Spinach & Halloumi

Easy creamed greens with a hint of spice!

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This delicious and nutritious creamed spinach and halloumi is one of my favorites. I love mustard greens, so I use mustard greens, broccoli, and spinach. However, you can use your favorite combination of greens. Spicy creamed greens are traditionally an Indian and Pakistani dish, but I switch it up a bit to use the flavors I typically cook with. You can make it as spicy as you like and serve it as a side dish or vegetarian main dish. It’s easy to make, and I can’t wait for you to try it!

Your favorite way to eat greens

• Creamy greens
• Sweet onions
• A kick from the jalapeno
• An easy and delicious way to eat your greens!

Green ingredients

• Frozen chopped mustard greens –substitute more spinach or your favorite greens
• Frozen broccoli florets
• Frozen spinach leaves
• Jalapeños –you can leave this out if you don’t want a little spice
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• Unsalted butter
• All-purpose flour
• Garlic cloves –grated
• Onion –finely chopped, or you can use thinly sliced scallions
• Halloumi cheese
• Optional: heavy cream and/or cream cheese

How to make Creamed Spinach and Halloumi

• Place the broccoli, spinach, mustard greens, and jalapenos in the instant pot and add a cup of water.
• Season with salt and pepper and sauté for 15 minutes or until mostly wilted/thawed.
• Cover with the lid and set the vent to the sealed position.
• Pressure cook on high for 20 minutes and naturally release pressure for 15-20 minutes.
• Then, open the vent to release any remaining pressure.
• Blend the greens in a blender in 2-3 batches until coarsely ground or use an emulsion blender.
• In a large skillet, cook the butter and onions over medium heat until soft and golden–about 10 minutes.
• Then, add the garlic and warm through until fragrant—about 30 seconds.
• Add the flour, cook through for 2-3 minutes, and season with salt.
• Finally, place the greens back into the instant pot along with the onion mixture and sauté for 8-10 minutes.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
• (If adding, add the heavy cream or cream cheese. Make sure the cream cheese is soft and at room temperature, so it melts easily into the greens.)
• Then, add the halloumi cheese and cook until softened.

For creamier or dip like texture

I prefer this dish without the cream because I think blending the greens together gives it plenty of creaminess while keeping some texture. However, add heavy cream if you want it creamier and a little richer. Add room-temperature cream cheese if you want even more richness with a dip-like texture. Either way, add the cream or cream cheese after sautéing the greens and onion mixture.

Cook on the Stovetop

I use the instant pot to save time, but you can cook this dish right on the stovetop. I recommend that you cook it on low heat for about an hour and a half. It takes some time for these greens to get really nice and soft. The spinach cooks right away, but the broccoli takes a little time, and mustard greens are a little tough. So, it will take a while for those to get soft.

Serving

It’s hard to keep my pita bread out of the pot when this finishes cooking because it’s so good even without the cheese. So, try it with pita bread or over rice. It also makes a delicious breakfast with fried or poached eggs on top. However, my favorite way is with the softened halloumi cheese and homemade pita bread. Sometimes, I add feta, but you all would have expected that! Ha! Kali Orexi!

Serve with:

• Homemade Pita Bread
• Cumin Rice Pilaf
• Mediterranean Rice Pilaf

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Creamed Spinach & Halloumi

Yield: Serves 10-12

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds frozen chopped mustard greens
• 1 pound broccoli florets
• 1 and 1/2 pounds spinach leaves
• 2-3 jalapeños (optional)
• salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 oz (115g) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 6-7 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 onion, finely chopped or 7 scallions, thinly sliced
• 8 oz Halloumi cheese
• optional: 1/2 cup heavy cream and/or 8 oz cream cheese

Instructions

Place the broccoli, spinach, mustard greens, and jalapenos in the instant pot. Add a cup of water and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 15 minutes or until mostly wilted/thawed.

Cover with the lid and set the vent to the sealed position.

Pressure cook on high for 20 minutes and allow to naturally release for 15-20 minutes. Open the vent to release any remaining pressure.

Blend the greens in 2-3 batches until coarsely ground.

In a large skillet, cook the butter and onions over medium heat until soft and golden. About 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and warm through until fragrant. About 30 seconds.

Add the flour and cook through for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt.

Place the greens back into the instant pot along with the onion mixture and sauté for 8-10 minutes.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Add the halloumi cheese and cook until softened.

Serve with pita bread or over rie. This also makes a delicious breakfast with fried or poached eggs.

Kali Orexi!

Notes

Substitute the mustard greens with more spinach or with your favorite greens.

If adding the heavy cream and cream cheese, add them at the end right before the addition of the halloumi cheese. Make sure that the cream cheese is soft and at room temperature.

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