Spinach Tomato Filipino Side Dish | Spinach Insalata

A popular filipino side dish that is usually made with sweet potato leaves (talbos ng Kamote), however when your from Canada fresh sweet potato leaves are hard to find; you can use spinach instead. This side dish goes great with grilled or fried fish like tilapia or bangus (milkfish), but I like it with stir fried shrimp. Don't forget the rice =)

Ingredients

1 cup of blanched spinach 

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

3 tbsp pickled shallots or raw shallots

1 tbsp calamansi juice (4-5 fresh calamansi)

2 tsp fish sauce

black pepper

Pickled Shallot Recipe

2 large shallots sliced

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tsp sugar

pinch salt and pepper

1. Begin by boiling some water on the stove, add about 4 handfuls of baby spinach. Cook for about 20 seconds just until the spinach starts to wilt. You don't want to over cook the spinach. Remove from the boiling water and strain to remove excess water. Allow to cool to room temperature. 

2.  Add the blanched spinach to a small mixing bowl. 

3. Add the tomatoes, pickled shallots, fish sauce, calamansi juice. Mix till well combined. 

4. Taste the spinach to see if the balance of salty and citrus is to your liking. You can add a bit more calamansi if you like more citrus flavour. Or more fish sauce for more salt. The flavour is up to you. 

5. Transfer to a serving plate and enjoy!