Spinach- Molokhia Egyptian

Spinach-Molokhia Egyptian 

Corchorus olitorius

Molokhia is a Middle Eastern super-green that is rich in nutrients. Egyptian spinach, jute mallow, and Jew's mallow are all names for the same plant. Corchorus olitorius is the botanical name. Use fresh in salads, sautéed as a side vegetable, or turned into soup. Cooked leaves have a mucilaginous feel, and dried leaves may be used to thicken soups or brewed as a tea. Vitamins A, C, E, K, potassium, calcium, and magnesium are abundant in the leaves, which also contain beta carotene, iron, and more than 32 vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. It's said to help with digestion and vision. Known as the "food of kings". Molokhia dates back to the time of the pharaohs, when an Egyptian king drank it in soup to recover from an illness (Yes there are hieroglyphs of this plant). Today, it is the most widely eaten vegetable in Egypt, where it was often cooked with rabbit broth, garlic and coriander and served with baked rabbit and rice. Modern Egyptians also use Molokhia to make a soup prepared since ancient times with the same spices but with lamb, beef or duck. Molokhia is consumed all over Northern Africa and around the Middle East.  In fact it's so common, that even here in the US, people from those regions still eat it. They just have to buy it as a frozen paste from Middle Eastern grocery stores.  On 3 separate occasions I had adults breakdown and start crying when they saw the plants growing at some of my community garden projects, because they hadn't seen it growing since the last time they had been home. One lady was from Egypt, another from Israel, and a gentleman from Ethiopia.