Fork-tender spinach patties covered in a rich green tomatillo salsa –here’s an unusual way to serve spinach. A real vegetarian treat, these savory green cakes are made with seriously wilted spinach, seasoned with onion and cilantro, and pan-fried until golden. Corn tortilla crumbs and a little egg hold everything together, and each pattie hides pinky finger-sized pieces of melty cheese.
To make vegetarian spinach patties, steam 2 bunches of fresh spinach or thaw 2 packages of frozen spinach, then drain and press out as much liquid as possible. Tuck melty pieces of cheese inside ss you form the mixture into little cakes. Sauté in olive oil until just beginning to brown on both sides. The tomatillo sauce is simply tomatillos, onion, garlic and vegetable broth.
This recipe comes from Carmen, my Mexican home-stay mother at Spanish language immersion school. The first time she served me her tortas de espinaca, I just about did a headstand on the table, they were so mindblowingly delicious! Carmen is not only an excellent cook, she’s also a teacher at the school, and when you stay at her house, you speak only Spanish.
Carmen’s tortas de espinaca, these vegetarian spinach patties, is one Spanish lesson I’ll remember, and that I’m happy as a margarita to pass on to you.
Ladle warm tomatillo sauce over your spinach patties, like Carmen does with her tortas de espinaca. Her green sauce recipe is unique from other salsa verde recipes in that there’s no cilantro in the sauce, which I always put in tomatillo sauce. I even called Carmen in Mexico to confirm that her salsa verde doesn’t include cilantro. Sí, no. Cilantro goes in the tortas but not in the sauce.
Carmen’s recipe includes bread crumbs to absorb moisture and help the patties hold together. I told her I was going to replace the bread crumbs with corn tortilla crumbs so the patties could be gluten-free. She said “no hay problema”, and also that flour or cornmeal can substitute for the bread crumbs.
Like Carmen, serve your spinach patties with Mexican rice and tender pinto beans.
My last visit with Carmen, she sent me home on the plane with para llevar, a couple tortilla roll-ups of leftover spinach patties. Wrapped in the roll-ups were slices of avocado, tomato, and queso Oaxaca, a melty cheese similar to mozzarella. I am pretty sure the person next to me on the flight was envious. He got peanuts.
You might also like my green enchiladas with spinach and arugula.
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This recipe is an update of the recipe I posted right after a two-week stint at Cuernavaca Language School, and home-stay at Carmen’s. The photo below is of Carmen’s tortas de espinaca on her floral-pattern melamine plate.
Vegetarian Spinach Patties with Tomatillo Sauce
Ingredients
Spinach patties:
- 2 bunches spinach (10 ounces) or 2 packages frozen chopped spinach
- ¼ cup chopped white onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Finely ground stale corn tortillas, about 3 tablespoons, as needed, (see note)
- 1 ounce white cheddar cheese cut in cubes about the size of the tip of your pinkie finger
- Olive oil, as needed
Tomatillo Sauce:
- 6 large fresh tomatillos, or one small can
- 1 or 2 serrano chiles, seeds and veins removed, coarsely chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped white onion
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt, to taste
- ¼ cup vegetable broth or as needed
- Olive oil as needed
Instructions
To make the spinach patties:
- ** Fresh spinach: Wash well and remove and discard stems. Steam the spinach leaves about 5 minutes. Allow to drain in a colander or sieve, pressing very well to remove as much excess water as possible. Coarsely chop the spinach.
- ** Frozen spinach: Thaw the spinach. Put in a sieve and press very well to remove as much excess water as possible.
- In a bowl, mix the pressed spinach with the chopped onion, garlic and cilantro. (see note) Using a fork, stir in the egg, salt and pepper. Stir in the corn tortilla meal or breadcrumbs, just enough so that the mixture holds together.
- Divide the spinach mixture in 1/4 cup measures. In the palm of your hand, shape the mixture into small round patties, and as you do, poke 4 or 5 little pieces of the cheese in the middle. Forming them about 2 ½ inches wide, about 1/2 inch thick. (It may feel like the patties won’t hold together, especially if there is still a lot of moisture in the spinach. Handle them gently and they will cook nicely all in one piece.)
- Over medium flame, heat a thin layer of the oil in a large skillet. Gently cook the patties, turning to cook both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the heat and keep warm while you prepare the sauce.
To make the Tomatillo Sauce:
- Drop the fresh tomatillos into boiling water and cook for several minutes, mostly to remove the paper-like skin. Place the tomatillos, serrano chile(s), onion and garlic and salt in a blender and whirl. Heat a small amount of olive oil in another skillet and add the tomatillo mixture. Cook and stir for 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in vegetable broth, just enough to thin the sauce. Season to taste with salt. Pour a generous ladle on top of the spinach tortas.
Notes
- I used blender-ground corn tortillas in place of the breadcrumbs that Carmen uses to absorb moisture and help hold the patties together. You could also use cornmeal or flour.
- If you have time, sauté the chopped onion in a little olive oil before adding to the spinach.
