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Spinach with pine nuts and golden raisins

Spinach cooks down so dramatically that a 1/2-pound bag will be just two cups when cooked the way I do, in a big skillet.

Put a little olive oil in the pan and pile the spinach high. Put on the heat and turn the spinach as it cooks; tongs are the best tool. Keep turning, and the big pile of spinach will diminish quickly.

In five minutes that mound will be reduced to a layer of lightly cooked spinach in the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper.

The accompanying recipe is a classic Italian treatment. Pine nuts and raisins are added to the spinach. I use golden raisins for better eye appeal.

Makes 4 half-cup servings

8 ounces large-leafed spinach *

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

2 tablespoons golden raisins

If the spinach leaves are large, pull off the stem. (The easy way is to fold the leaf in half with the backside out and pull down on the stem.) Pile up the large leaves and chop lightly.

Place oil and garlic in the pan; pile the spinach on top.

Turn the heat on medium; as the spinach begins to sizzle, use tongs to turn it, bringing the cooked bottom layer to the top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Keep turning until all the spinach is fully cooked — no more than 5 minutes from the start.

Sprinkle pine nuts and raisins on top, and stir to combine. Serve warm.

* Seek out local spinach as soon as you can. The fresher the better, in terms of taste and nutrition. At the supermarket, look for the large-leafed regular spinach for cooking rather than the ever-present bags of baby spinach.