Cream of Spinach ala Svetlana

Here is a cream of spinach recipe Serbian style. You can tell that this dish is Serbian because it has zapška (pronounced as za-purr-sh-ka). You will learn in this recipe how to make zapška, a secret way to make all your food tasting great.

Ingredients:

5 oz baby spinach
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
salt to taste

Zaprška:
4 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp paprika

Boil water in a pan, then add washed spinach and cook it for several minutes. Drain the spinach and throw the water away. Pour new clean water into the pan and boil the spinach one more time. When the water boils, allow the spinach to cook in it for 5-6 minutes.

Drain the spinach well. Place on a cutting board and cut into small pieces.

And now, its time to make something what we call "zaprška". We use zaprška in many dishes, its purpose it to thicken the sauce and add some flavor. Here is how you do it. You will need oil, flour and paprika.

In a small sauce pan, heat some oil to medium-low. Add flour and stir continuously to allow it to fry, but be careful not to burn it.

Add paprika and stir again. Do not cook too long. Have your spinach ready.

Add spinach and garlic back into the pan right after adding paprika.

Slowly add milk while stirring to make a sauce like consistency. It is important to add mils slowly so that your cream of spinach does not turn out too runny.

When the milk starts to boil, mix the egg and add it to the pan.

Cook it for several more minutes while stirring, and your Serbian cream of spinach is done. Serve with fresh bread.