Spinach Polpette

One of my big New Year’s resolutions is to cure my kids of picky eating. Since January, each week I’ve been creating intense meal plans which include at least ten fruits and ten vegetables cooked in unique ways (baked, sautéed, steamed, raw, etc.). Two months in, I’m grasping glimpses of my hard work paying off: Scotty has eaten everything I have served him for the past three weeks (except celery…can’t say I blame him) and Matteo has finally started tasting/nibbling on the vegetables on his plate. My favorite books on the topic of turning kids into healthy eaters are Getting to Yum and It’s Not About the Broccoli. Check them both out from the library and I promise they will change the way you think about food and serve meals to your children. 

 Dina Rose, the author of It’s Not About the Broccoli, cites an interesting study which found that sweet and umami flavors are excellent vehicles for getting kids (and adults!) to like new tastes. For example, Rose suggests serving kids Greek yogurt with mini chocolate chips as a way for children to familiarize themselves with the taste of plain Greek yogurt. After a few months the kids can replace the chocolate chips with sprinkles and then when fully weaned should be able to eat and enjoy plain Greek yogurt by itself. My kids still only eat plain Greek yogurt with the chocolate chips, but I have used this idea to introduce them to new vegetables. Months ago I started serving Scotty and Matteo a squash, zucchini, and tomato stir-fry, and in the beginning I let them put as much grated parmesan cheese on it as they liked. I slowly took away the option of parmesan cheese and now Scotty eats the stir-fry plain. The cheese served as a crutch to introduce him to the new flavors and textures, but now is no longer needed. (And in case you think my kids are perfect, know that Matteo still only eats the stir-fry with the grated parmesan on top and this morning he cried big crocodile tears about being served a kale omelet!) 

Similarly, for the past year, nonna has been serving my boys spinach polpette. These polpette are just as full of cheese as they are spinach, and although the massive amount of cheese probably negates some of the health factors, it has been an excellent vehicle for getting my kids to like the taste of spinach. Last week for dinner we ate chicken, sweet potato fries, and sautéed spinach with a little grated parmesan on top. After finishing the sweet potato and chicken Scotty turned to me, suspiciously pointed to the wet green blob and asked what it was. I responded, “Spinach. Just like you eat in your omelets and like the spinach polpette that nonna makes.” His response was “Oh” and then he turned to his brother and said, “Matteo, I love spinach.” I practically fainted. 

So here’s nonna’s polpette di spinaci recipe that my kids gobble up and that I think is the absolute best way to introduce kids to spinach. Hopefully your kids these as much as mine do. 

Spinach Polpette

Polpette di spinaci 

Ingredients:

1 extra large bag or 16 cups of tender spinach leaves (500 grams)

3/4 cup of ricotta cheese

2.5 cups of parmesan cheese

Any hard cheese such as scamorza or mozzarella

Yolk of one egg

Bread crumbs (optional)

1 clove of garlic

Pepper

Salt

Instructions: 

1. In a large frying pan, heat up one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the clove of garlic and sauté until partially transparent and the aroma has hit its peak. 

2. Next take the garlic from the pan and replace with the spinach. Cover with a lid and let cook over medium heat. Make sure to stir every minute or so. Add desired amount of salt and pepper about halfway through the cooking process. 

 

3. When fully cooked (about 5 minutes), transfer the spinach to a colander and let the excess liquid run off. Leave to cool down. 

4. In the meantime, cut pieces of hard cheese in 1/4 by 1/4 inch cubes and grate the parmesan cheese. 

5. Return to the spinach and firmly squeeze the leaves of as much excess liquid as possible. 

6. On a cutting board, mince the spinach extremely finely.

 

7. Transfer the spinach to a large bowl and mix in the ricotta very well. 

8. Add the parmesan and the yolk of one egg. 

9. The softness of the mixture will vary depending on how much liquid remains in the spinach. If the spinch and cheese mixture is still too soft to form small balls, add bread crumbs until you've reached your desired consistency. 

10. Grab a piece of spinach/cheese mixture and roll into a ball. With your finger, make an indent in the middle and place a cube of hard cheese there. (I love scamorza, but you can also use a hard mozzarella.)

11. Wrap the spinach mixture around the cheese and place seam down on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. 

Note: You can also cook these spinach polpette without the cheesy center, which is how my kids usually eat them. When I make them plain, I try to shape smaller balls; the smaller they are the more fun my kids have eating them. 

12. Once your baking sheet is full, spinkle the spinach polpette with bread crumbs and drizzle olive oil on top. 

13. Place in a 375-degree oven for 30 minutes, making sure to turn the polpette halfway through the cooking time. You'll know that they are ready to be flipped when the bottoms have developed a thin crust. 

14. These polpette make the perfect snack. Today I'm tossing six in a Ziploc and we're taking them to the park with us as our afternoon merenda.  

 {An excellent snack option that my kids also enjoy eating.}