These vegetarian spinach patties with salsa verde are my absolute favorite way to eat spinach. Covered with rich green tomatillo sauce, each fork-tender little green cake hides pinky-sized pieces of sharp cheese that melt during cooking.

The first time Carmen made her tortas de espinaca for me, I flipped out, they were mindblowingly good.  Carmen is my Mexican hostess, cook, sister and friend, my Mexican home-stay mother at Spanish language immersion school. She is also a teacher, and when you stay at her house, you speak only Spanish. Even if you just speak beginner Spanish.

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It’s a goal of my life to speak Spanish well. The best thing I’ve done to that end was travel to Mexico, to language immersion school. Tortas de espinaca Carmen, or spinach patties with salsa verde, is one Spanish lesson I’ll remember, and that I’m happy as a margarita to pass on to you.

Carmen’s salsa verde, the one she ladles over tortas de espinaca, is unique in that there’s no cilantro, 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 original recipe includes bread crumbs, to absorb moisture and help the patties hold together. I told her I was going to replace ground corn tortillas so the patties could be gluten-free. She said “no hay problema”, and that flour or cornmeal are also fine substitutes for the bread crumbs.

This recipe is a blog post from years ago, written right after a two-week stint at Cuernavaca Language School, and home-stay at Carmen’s; I’ve updated the post with new photos. For now and for posterity, the photo of Carmen’s tortas de espinaca on a floral patterned melamine plate remains. See it below the recipe. Like Carmen, my tortas de espinaca come with Mexican rice and pot beans, frijoles de olla.

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.

If you make these spinach tortas, please let me know! Leave a comment below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #lettycooksveggies!

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Spinach Patties with Salsa Verde

Prep Time

35 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

55 mins

 

Spinach tortas, spinach patties, tortas de espinaca--call them what you like--these babies are delicious. Ladle the salsa verde, tomatillo green sauce on top and WOW! Serve with with Mexican red rice and frijoles de olla. Serve 2 tortas per person.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Servings: 3 about 6 patties

Author: Letty | Letty's Kitchen

Ingredients

Spinach Tortas:

• 2 bunches spinach, washed well and stems removed
• ¼ white onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Finely ground stale corn tortillas, about 3 tablespoons, as needed, (see note)
• About 1 ounce sharp white cheddar cheese or queso añejo, cut in little pieces
• Olive oil, as needed

Salsa Verde:

• 6 large fresh tomatillos, or one small can
• 1 or 2 serrano chiles, seeds and veins removed, coarsely chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped white onion
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt, to taste
• ¼ to 1/2 cup vegetable broth as needed
• Olive oil as needed

Instructions

To make the spinach tortas:

1. 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.

2. In a bowl, mix with the chopped onion, garlic and cilantro. Using a fork, stir in the eggs, salt and pepper. Stir in the corn tortilla meal or breadcrumbs, just enough so that the mixture holds together.

3. In the palm of your hand, shape the spinach mixture into small round patties, and as you do, poke 4 or 5 little pieces for the cheese in the middle. For each torta use about 1/3 cup of the spinach mixture, forming them about 2 ½ inches wide. (It may feel like the tortas 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.)
4. 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 Salsa Verde:

1. 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 on top of the spinach tortas and over medium heat, cook them together a few minutes.

Recipe Notes

I substituted ground corn tortillas in place of breadcrumbs, which Carmen uses to absorb moisture and help hold the patties together. You could also use a little cornmeal, or flour.

Carmen’s Spinach Tortas