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Narcissus in Greek mythology was a hunter from the territory of Thespiae in Boeotia who was renowned for his beauty. He was the son of a river god named Cephissus and a nymph named Liriope. He was exceptionally proud, in that he rejected those who loved him. Nemesis the goddess of revenge, learned of this story and decided to punish Narcissus. She attracted Narcissus, who had never seen his own reflection, to a pool where he saw a reflection in the water and fell in love with it, not realizing it was merely reflection of himself. As he bent down to kiss it, it seemed to disappear and he was heartbroken. He grew thirstier but he wouldn’t touch the water for fear of damaging his reflection. Unable to leave the beauty of his reflection, Narcissus eventually died of thirst and staring at his own reflection. (Narcissus is the origin of the term narcissism, a fixation with oneself.)
The narcissus flower is closely identified with the hunter boy and was said to spring from the ground around the pool where Narcissus died. In the roman version it is suggested that Narcissus is transformed into the flower.
Now that we have our mythologies in order, let’s get to the FOOD !
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Spinach Narcissus • Nargesi'ye Esfenaj • نرگسی اسفناج
Recipe by: Fae’s Twist & Tango (fae-magazine.com)
INGREDIENTS
• 454 g/ 1 lb fresh baby spinach, pre-washed or washed thoroughly
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, mashed
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ¼ + ½ tsp salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 4 eggs
DIRECTIONS
◊ In a medium-size pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. First add ¼ tsp salt and then spinach. As soon as spinach wilts (less than a minute), drain in a colander. Let cooked spinach sit for a while to drain. Gently press out any excess liquid.
◊ In a non-stick skillet (that has a lid), add 3 Tbsp oil and heat on medium. Add cut onion and caramelize. Spoon out half of caramelized onion for garnish and set aside.
◊ Add mashed garlic to caramelized onion in skillet, stir for 15 seconds more, add drained spinach, stir and sauté for one minute.
◊ Lower heat to medium-low, add turmeric, ½ tsp salt, pepper, and stir for a few seconds. Spread spinach evenly around skillet. Make four evenly-distanced openings for the eggs.
◊ Break eggs in each of the openings. Put lid on and cook for few minuets, until eggs are set. Best if eggs are over-easy, yolks are not hardened.
◊ Slide spinach and eggs intact, into a serving dish, garnish with caramelized onion which has been set aside and serve warm.
◊ Best served with bread and yogurt.
Options: Greens such as kale, chard, mustard greens or any green vegetables, may be substituted for spinach.
~ Noushe jan! • نوش جان ~
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So, what’s cooking in your kitchen?
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what about the garlic?
There is garlic in the ingredients. Check out the 3rd bullet in ‘Directions’.
Oh, Fae, your Persian dishes shine with such intensity. I am looking forward to making this dish with our chickens’ fresh eggs. I love that you share great recipes with us that are close to your heart. I am learning so much from your blog. Warmly, Shanna
Shanna, you are a sweetheart. Thank you so much. I like your comment, ‘our chickens’. When I was growing up in Iran, we kept chickens in the back of the house. Fresh eggs every day. 😀
Oh, Fae,
Your Iranian dishes and memories – I love hearing these stories and learning about the dishes. Thank you.
I do wish you were a neighbor; our fresh eggs would be your fresh eggs. Shanna
This just looks so good! I love the turmeric addition!
I can’t wait to try this Fae. I remember in high school my persian friend made something similar with aubergine and eggs. Seeing your picture this took me back to my teenage years!
I Will make this tonight! I have all the right ingredients in the house! Your dish looks very Yummy too!
Nice work, happy to have found this place on blogs list.
This is the type of resources that should be provided online.
It’d be great to see stuff like this on web 2.0 site list. It’s a pity that the search engines aren’t giving fae-magazine.com a higher ranking. If you’re interested, please come and read my
web site. Kudos
I love the story behind this recipe and it looks beautiful too. What a nice way to start a dinner conversation on Greek mythology.
Hi Fae! That looks absolutely delicious
Just dropping by to let you know that I nominated you for an award! http://lessaveursdemimi.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/home-sweet-madrid/
O’kaeri’nasa~i Mimi! From your posts, it is apparent that you had a great time in Europe! So~ good of you to drop by… and on top of that surprise me with 7 by 7 Link Award! Thank you very much for thinking of me. I will be looking forward to your future posts! 😀 Fae.
i think i’ll use chinese chard for your recipes…
btw you’ve plate that beautifully fae…
your new gravatar is beauty even better…..hehehe
I love eggs and spinach dishes but yours is special with the caramelized onions…it sounds wonderful.
What a pretty dish! I’ll bet that it tastes good too…!
I love your new gravatar picture! A simple beautiful dish and even more beautiful after the little history behind the dish.
I take it that the eggs are seeing their “reflection” in the row of eggs below? Thanks for educating me on the meaning behind these well-known words. I could see this meal being served any time of day. Delicious!
Is that dish sexy or is it just me?
yumyum this is amazing!
OOOh this looks so cute and delicious and darling and YUM! & healthy
Well, you won’t be surprised when I say that I LOVE spinach and eggs together. Such a good pairing.
I adore eggs and this dish looks awesome. The mythological history is so entertaining. I love everything about this post.
I love the way those eggs look
Love this, it’s beautiful and I love the name.
It’s obvious when you think about it but I had never linked Narcissus in mythology with daffodils. And until you mentioned that I didn’t get why the spinach was named as it was! Thank you for educating me!
I also loved this post. And the dish… egg and spinach is one of those perfect flavour combinations.
I never knew the story of Narcissus. Great lead in to your recipe.
What a nice healthy brunch dish. I love anything with eggs on top as I not only love the taste of eggs but think the natural color adds so much…
Great post! The dish is eye-catching as well.
I just love mythology and legends…they make great stories. What a lovely dish Fae! And simple to boot!
I love this dish – except for the onions
And now that I saw your pictures the name makes totally sense!
I agree with Darya !!
Fantastic post and pictures. I absolutely LOVE the name of this dish, the looks of it, oh well, everything about it! Spinach-garlic-egg ? Delicious.