Spinach Balls

from Candy Longyear:

Ingredients

  • 6 cup fresh spinach leaves trimmed, washed (230 g) see note for frozen/cooked spinach

  • 3 cup boiling water

  • 3 eggs

  • 1/2 cup grated cheese (60g) – I used Cheddar, use grated parmesan or grated emmental for more cheese flavor

  • 1/4 cup fresh herbs of your choice, finely chopped I used cilantro

  • 1 cup Gluten Free Panko Crumbs (75 g)

  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to  350 F (180 C).

    2. Trim and wash the fresh spinach leaves.

    3. Place the leaves in a large mixing bowl and over with boiling water. Cover and set aside for 3 minutes.

    4. Rinse the spinach with cold tap water. Drain using your hands to squeeze all the remaining water. You should obtain about 2/3 cup (160 g) of packed cooked spinach leaves. If you are using frozen spinach, defrost and measure this quantity.

    5. Place on a chop board and finely chop the cooked spinach. Transfer into a mixing bowl.

    6. Add eggs, cheese, herbs and panko gluten free crumbs. You can also add salt and pepper if your cheese is not very salty. I did not add salt.

    7. Combine with a spoon or your hands, until it forms a batter from which you are able to form balls with your hands or use a small cookie scoop maker to avoid the mess

    8. If too moist add slightly more crumb until easy to roll as ball with your hands palms.

    9. Place the balls on a non-stick cookie tray covered with baking paper.

    10. Bake at 350F (180C) for 15-20 minutes or until golden on the top.

    11. Serve immediately or cold in luchboxes.

    12. Serve with dips of your choice like pesto, hummus or homemade ketchup.

    Recipe Notes

    Spinach measurement :  you need about 6 cups of fresh spinach. It makes about 2/3 cup (160 g) of cooked, squeezed and packed spinach. It is ok to use frozen spinach as soon as you have 2/3 cup cooked, squeezed, packed spinach.

    Cheese options: you can replace grated cheddar but mozzarella, parmesan, colby, emmental or any hard grated cheese you love.

    Herbs options: those spinach balls are very tasty with fresh parsley, dill or basil. Use your favorite herb or mix it!

Quinoa and Sausage One-Pot Supper

1 lb. sausage (I used loose sausage: recipe calls for cubes)

1 yellow onion, chopped
2 TB chopped sage
1 cup organic apple or pear hard cider (I used non-alcoholic organic Knudsen Sparkling Pear)
1 cup quinoa, rinsed & drained
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tsp fine sea salt (I omitted this)
2 cups chopped kale or spinach leaves, lightly packed

In a large pot, cook sausage, onion & sage over medium-high heat until just browned, about 10 minutes.  Add cider, quinoa, cranberries, salt & 3/4 cup water & bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits.  Cover, reduce heat to medium-low & simmer until liquid is just absorbed, 25 -30 minutes.  Stir in kale, cover again & set aside off the heat for 5 minutes.  Uncover, fluff with a fork & serve.