Potato with a Crunch Punch!

It is zero secret to those who know me well, that potatoes are a total love language in my life, lol! I will take them however they come… roasted, fried, boiled, baked - even straight out the fridge the next day, still in their jackets and stone cold with just a little bit of salt. And yes, I am absolutely that person who will happily eat a mashed potato sandwich. Don’t judge it until you’ve tried it, okay?! Lol - It is far better than it sounds!!

Mashed potato, in general, has always been a favourite of mine. I started adding greens to it years ago when Jude was still a little munchkin, mostly as a way to get something vaguely nutritious down his throat without too much of a fight. Turns out, that little trick has stuck and it’s still the way I love it best.

What am I talking about? - Baby spinach! I have always loved baby spinach. You can keep your kale and those fibrous “tough” guys… baby spinach does the job without all the yuk, haha! No gritty, sandy texture, no overpowering flavour… it just works! It is for that reason, it is one of those ingredients that has naturally found its way into a lot of my cooking over the years… tossed into pasta, stirred through couscous, added to rice dishes or even thrown into a stew at the last minute… and in this instance… mash!

Once I’ve mashed the potatoes, leaving in a few little lumps, because overly smooth mash feels a bit suspicious to me lol - I roughly chop a couple of handfuls of baby spinach and stir it in while the mash is still piping hot. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated. The heat softens the leaves just enough, with the benefits of a quick blanch, and they sort of melt into the mash.

There’s a bit of a nutritional perk to this too, which I didn’t actually know in the beginning, but it’s a nice bonus. Raw spinach, as healthy as it is, can sometimes make it harder for your body to absorb certain minerals because of something called oxalates.

Lightly cooking it, like what happens when you stir it into hot mash… helps reduce those, which means your body can actually get more goodness out of it. Also, it’s a bit easier on the digestive system for people who find raw greens a bit rough.

But honestly, I don’t really do it for the science. I do it because it tastes soooo good, it adds a little extra texture and crunch… and it’s just become second nature. The spinach adds a gentle bite that doesn’t overpower the mash, and there’s something particularly satisfying about knowing your comfort food is carrying a little bit of a nutritional punch too.

If you’ve never tried it, give it a go! Especially if you’ve got half a bag of baby spinach sitting in the fridge with no clear future, lol! It might not seem like much, but I’ve found it to be one of those small, easy additions that’s quietly made its mark over the years. And yes, it still makes a brilliant sandwich filling. Just saying.