Warrigal Greens

– also known as Warrigal Spinach, New Zealand Spinach or even Botany Bay greens

One of the first native Australian vegetables to become popular with European settlers. Looking for ways to fight scurvy, Captain Cook encouraged his men to eat them, and many convicts owed their lives to the spinach-like plant. The plant was taken back to England by the botanist Joseph Banks and became popular there for a time.

Before using them I soak them in hot (not boiling) water for 5 minutes – this has a dual purpose – it detaches any bugs and also deals with any oxalates (which are present in all forms of spinach I might add).

At present my patch of Warrigal Greens is flourishing so I am modifying a Greek recipe for Spanokopita Spring Rolls (as per the pic here).

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and add 2 roughly chopped shallots (scallions), 5 handfuls of Warrigal Greens (instead of baby spinach) plus a quarter cup of chopped dill. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper ( I will use my own blend of Southern Ocean Sea Salt, Mountain Pepper and Lemon Aspen - “Tropical Pepperberry Sea Salt”)

I add the spinach mix to a large bowl along with 113gm (4oz) Feta and ¾ cup of Mozzarella. Combine well.

Assembly: Submerge a spring roll wrapper for 10 to 15 seconds, pat dry and add 3 tablespoons of spinach feta mix along one side and roll over, tucking in the sides as you roll. Then dip into beaten egg and finally dredge in a combination of 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup of Breadcrumbs.

Spray with olive oil and then place in a preheated air fryer (180C) for 7 minutes

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