The spinach rice with tomatoes tray bake is a version of the very popular “spanakorizo”. Spanakorizo is a dish cooked often in Greece and Cyprus especially now, during the Lent season. It is the Greek answer to an Italian risotto I would say. There are two versions, one cooked with tomatoes and the other without. I absolutely love tomatoes so the majority of the time when I make spanakorizo I add them.

My inspiration

The idea for this spinach rice with tomatoes tray bake came to me after seeing Galatia’s post, where she cooked deconstructed “gemista”. Gemista is the dish we refer to that includes any vegetables that are stuffed. Vegetables vary from zucchini, capsicums or tomatoes. The stuffing usually includes rice, mince and herbs.

Going back to her post, instead of stuffing her tomatoes she laid them all out. She added a layer of sliced tomatoes on a baking dish followed by her gemista stuffing. Lastly she put another layer of tomatoes on top of the stuffing, which was then baked.

So for a tomato lover such as myself it was like music to my eyes haha I just had to try create something : ) Plus my father in law gave me these gorgeous juicy tomatoes you can see here from his garden!

Taste bud explosion

If I was to tell you the kind of taste this spinach rice with tomatoes tray bake has… There’s really not one single word that would do it justice. So here are four descriptions:

1. Zesty from the lemon juice and tomatoes
2. Sweet from the roasted tomatoes on top
3. Aromatic from the dill added
4. And some heat from the cracked pepper sprinkled on top of the tomatoes

Tray bake vs stove top

The recipes I create for my tray bakes as you can see from the others here, use a single cooking dish. Which is why I don’t tend to include onions in them, so I don’t have to use the frying pan. Instead I add garlic powder for the extra flavour.

The spinach rice with tomatoes traybake does take a bit longer to cook than it would on the stove. So why do it? Well there’s two reasons! First of all, that roasted tomato! The depth of flavour that is created takes this dish to a completely new level. Especially when you smash it and stir through the rice in the end! And secondly you don’t have to be standing on top of the stove stirring the rice in case it sticks to the bottom. The magic all happens in the oven!

Hope you like this recipe! Comment below if you do make it or add your feedback on any of my social pages.