I had these at a tapas restaurant called Polpo in London and tried to replicate. Experiment with proportions and spices... Next time i make them i will use oregano and a teaspoon of lemon in the mixture but as listed below, they were very delicious, too!
Makes about 15 balls, use canola oil or cut olive oil with canola to raise smoke point.
**NOTE: I updated this recipe on April 13-- i cut the egg and increased the ricotta***
For the balls:
2 cans drained, rinsed, and dried chick peas (i use trader joe's brand bc they are more al denti... Mushy overcooked ones would be gross.
2-3 c packed fresh spinach. Not baby spinach-- the real bunch spinach that tastes more robust and has a thicker leaf
1 c ricotta
1 t indian ground cumin
1 t lemon juice
1 t oregano
Salt and cracked pepper to taste
For the dredge: 2c panko, 1t salt, 1/2 t pepper, 2 t garlic powder, 1-2T smoked spanish paprika
Food process the cheese, chick peas, spinach, cumin, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper. The mix can be smooth or rustic and chopped.
Combine dredge ingredients into a separate bowl.
Using a small ice cream scoop, drop a spinach ricotta mixture ball into the dredge. It will be loosey-goosey but it will delicately stay together and rolling it in the panko will help in that regard. Just lightly toss it around the dredge till coated. Repeat till finished. Place on olive-oil sprayed baking sheet and leave a bit of air between each. Then, lightly spray their tops, too.
350 degree oven till the bottoms are golden brown. Don't bother turning them all. Instead, crank up to broil to lightly brown their tops.
Serve warm and use your favorite sauce for dipping. I use fire roasted crushed tomatoes with some oregano and fresh basil. Easy tapas appetizer! Keeps nicely in the refrigerator- but reheat in 350 oven for preserving the crunch before serving. No need to broil in reheating stage. Could be done in advance by 2 days.
Makes about 15 balls, use canola oil or cut olive oil with canola to raise smoke point.
**NOTE: I updated this recipe on April 13-- i cut the egg and increased the ricotta***
For the balls:
2 cans drained, rinsed, and dried chick peas (i use trader joe's brand bc they are more al denti... Mushy overcooked ones would be gross.
2-3 c packed fresh spinach. Not baby spinach-- the real bunch spinach that tastes more robust and has a thicker leaf
1 c ricotta
1 t indian ground cumin
1 t lemon juice
1 t oregano
Salt and cracked pepper to taste
For the dredge: 2c panko, 1t salt, 1/2 t pepper, 2 t garlic powder, 1-2T smoked spanish paprika
Food process the cheese, chick peas, spinach, cumin, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper. The mix can be smooth or rustic and chopped.
Combine dredge ingredients into a separate bowl.
Using a small ice cream scoop, drop a spinach ricotta mixture ball into the dredge. It will be loosey-goosey but it will delicately stay together and rolling it in the panko will help in that regard. Just lightly toss it around the dredge till coated. Repeat till finished. Place on olive-oil sprayed baking sheet and leave a bit of air between each. Then, lightly spray their tops, too.
350 degree oven till the bottoms are golden brown. Don't bother turning them all. Instead, crank up to broil to lightly brown their tops.
Serve warm and use your favorite sauce for dipping. I use fire roasted crushed tomatoes with some oregano and fresh basil. Easy tapas appetizer! Keeps nicely in the refrigerator- but reheat in 350 oven for preserving the crunch before serving. No need to broil in reheating stage. Could be done in advance by 2 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment