Step 1

If your spinach is in a bunch, chop off the stems and chop the leaves roughly.

Step 2

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add the whole garlic cloves for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Then carefully add the spinach leaves and immediately cover the pan (any water on the spinach may cause the oil to spit momentarily). The mound of leaves will seem like a lot of volume, but it will quickly wilt down to be very small. Cook covered for 1 minute, quickly uncover and stir for a few seconds to integrate cooked spinach with raw, then cook covered another 1 minute.

Step 3

Remove the lid. Stir and cook about 30 seconds more, until the spinach is fully wilted but still bright green. Stir in the kosher salt and fresh lemon juice, then remove from the heat.

Step 4

Taste and add a few more pinches of salt to taste. (Spinach is very susceptible to salt, so use only small bits at a time! The flavor should pop but not be salty.) Immediately remove to a bowl; the spinach will brown if you leave it any longer in the pan. Serve warm.