Oven Baked Spinach Balls

Yields 32- balls

Ingredients

16 ounces fresh spinach
2 cups panko breadcrumbs
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup minced yellow onion
4 large eggs beaten
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup Messina Hof Serenity or Blanc du Bois
1 tsp garlic powder or fresh minced
½ tsp dry oregano
½ tsp dry basil
½ tsp table grind black pepper
¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Instructions

Wilt fresh spinach in a sauté pan in ½ cup water.
Place the wilted spinach in a colander and press the excess water out.
Take your pressed spinach on cutting board and chop finely.
Place all the ingredients with the spinach in a mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
Roll into small even balls 2 ounces each in size approximately.
Place 1” apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
Bake in a 350-degree preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
Serve either hot or room temp with dipping sauce of your choice.

Notes

Use whatever dark leafy vegetable you enjoy. I used a mix of spinach, mustard greens and radish greens and it offered more complex flavors and mixed textures.
I like more greens so I used 24 oz.
You can make the balls larger yielding 20-24. Bake 25-30 minutes
The Messina Hof Remoulade Sauce is delicious. (Recipe in The Culinary View) Or a light herbal lemon vinaigrette is nice.

Inspired by Executive Chef Chris Shepley of The Vintage House Restaurant features vineyard cuisine and locally grown fresh from the garden produce in his recipes. He conducts Cooking Parties with the Chef on the third Sunday of each month at Messina Hof Winery.