Spinach Griddles with Red Pepper Salsa
Spinach griddles are usually fried, but fried food often leaves a person feeling bloated and “heavy” after the fact. Baking the griddles works just as well as frying, the taste is actually superior and the griddles are much healthier and don’t leave a greasy aftertaste at all. These spinach griddles are super easy to make because you can use a blender to combine the ingredients instead of beating the mixture by hand.
Ingredients
Spinach Griddles
½ cup of all purpose flour
¾ cup of almond milk
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon cream of tatar
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
½ bunch of fresh spinach leaves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon crushed chillies
1 small onion
½ tin of aquafaba (brine from tin of chickpeas)
½ teaspoon flaxseed powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Red Pepper Salsa
1 small red pepper
½ red onion
2 heaped teaspoons crushed garlic
1 teaspoon crushed red chilli
1 cup water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil for sautéing
Method
Spinach Griddles
Wash and rib the spinach leaves (fold in half at the exposing the rib, cut the rib away from the leaf). Lay spinach leaves on top of each other and roll them up into a sausage shape. Slice finely diagonally across the sausage shape to create “ribbons”. Dice the ribbons into 3 sections. Dice the onion.
Add the spinach and onion to a saucepan with a little vegetable oil. The spinach should still be slightly wet. Put a lid on the pan and sauté until the spinach wilts (7-10 minutes). Check the mixture and stir at two minute intervals.
Allow the spinach mixture to cool.
Add the following ingredients to a blender in the order given (do not add the dry ingredients first) : almond milk, aquafaba, crushed garlic, flour, baking powder, creme of tartar, flaxseed powder and finally the spices. Blend. Check the blender to ensure that no dry ingredients stick to the bottom. Scrape down the sides of the blender and pulse.
Add the cooled spinach mixture to the blender (make sure it’s absolutely cool). Pulse blend.
Grease a baking tray very well. Drop tablespoons of the mixture onto the tray (the mixture should spread). Bake in a medium-hot oven for 30 minutes, turning halfway through the cooking time. Turn the oven to grill and grill until browned on both sides (1 minute on each side)
Red Pepper Salsa
Dice the red pepper and the red onion. Add all other ingredients to a saucepan and sauté until the onion turns translucent. Stir mixture to prevent sticking. Add water to the pan and cook down until chunky. (About 10 minutes)
Blend the salsa retaining some of the chunkiness. Return the salsa to the heat. Heat through. Check seasoning and serve.
Serve the spinach griddles with the red pepper salsa.
All images are my own, shot using my iPad and manipulated using PicCollage and Art Studio
Video and recipe are my own
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