Spinach and Ricotta Polpettine in Tomato Passata

The temperature is between 25 and 30 Celsius at the moment and my spinach was looking a bit sad and droopy. 

I picked all that I could, washed it and cooked these delicious polpettine - a vegetarian delight.

This is a quick but delicious luncheon or entree dish that looks very impressive yet remains rustic.

 spinaci e ricotta polpettine di passata di Pomodoro

During the supermarket shop on Saturday morning I noticed 3  bottles of goats milk on sale. Because I make soap and cheese I always keep an eye out for milk specials and this was a great bonus!

I made some goats milk cheese, chevre which is basically a firm, moulded ricotta with a superb flavour.  While that was cooling in the fridge I proceeded to blanch the spinach to make the polpettine.


 I kept a few lovely polpettine aside planning to have them for lunch the next day.  One youngster came down for a midnight snack and told me the next morning that they were really nice.  "I felt a little ripped off when I realised they weren't meat balls Mum," he said " but they were good anyway".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Spinach and Ricotta Polpettine

1 bunch of spinach, blanched in boiling water for 1 minute, then cooled and drained.

200g ricotta cheese

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs

2 Tablespoons chopped parsley 

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

375ml tomato puree (passata)

1/4 cup water 

salt and pepper to taste

 Extra grated parmesan for garnish



Squeeze the excess water out of the drained spinach and roughly chop before placing into a bowl.

Add the cheeses, egg, breadcrumbs, parsley and seasoning (remember that ricotta is salty so go easy with the salt).

Fry the onion in a pan in a little olive oil with the garlic and fry for about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato puree and water and bring to a light simmer.   

Roll small balls of spinach mixture lightly with your hands and place into the tomato sauce.  When they are all rolled and placed on top of the tomato mixture grind a little black pepper and a tiny sprinkle of salt over the top.    Gently spoon a little sauce over top of the balls.   Turn pan to very low, cover and let cook for about 8 minutes. 

Remove lid and let cook for 1 more minute for the excess water to evaporate (only if needed).

Sprinkle with extra grated fresh parmesan.

Serve with crusty bread and a fresh green salad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does your family go searching in the refrigerator for the evening leftover food dishes?

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx