Small fried patties or croquettes, known as keftes, are popular in the Sephardic Jewish community. These Keftes de Espinaca are a unique and delicious vegetarian take on the kefte concept. Because keftes are pan fried, they are often served for Hanukkah to commemorate the miracle of the oil.
Keftes are related to Middle Eastern Arab meatballs, known as kuftas. Kuftas are usually made with meat. Keftes come in many different varieties including lentil, spinach and leek.
Spinach originated in Asia and made its way to the Mediterranean during the 8th century A.D. Persia was the first Middle Eastern country to cultivate this nutritious green; historically, spinach became known as the Persian Green. Spinach is now popular throughout the Middle East, prized for its distinct flavor and a myriad of health benefits.
These Sephardic Keftes de Espinaca are irresistible. If you have a family member who is reluctant to eat green leafy vegetables, these keftes may just get them to reconsider! They make a scrumptious appetizer, and can also be served as a vegetarian entrée. They’re a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. My favorite way to enjoy them is topped with a little Greek yogurt, sour cream or labaneh.
Make sure you serve these little fritters fresh out of the pan. If they sit out too long they’ll lose their crisp exterior.
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Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
Keftes de Espinaca - Spinach Keftes
Ingredients
- 9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (you may also use avocado oil)
- 1 onion, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 10 ounces fresh spinach leaves, rinsed and dried
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup mashed russet potatoes
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs or matzo meal (for Passover use matzo meal)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Pinch cayenne (optional, adds heat)
NOTES
Instructions
- In a large skillet, warm 1 tbsp of olive or grapeseed oil over medium heat. Sauté minced onion for 5 minutes until translucent. Add crushed garlic, sauté for two minutes longer.
- Add half of the fresh spinach and over the skillet, allow the spinach to wilt and shrink slightly, then add remaining half and cover again till all the spinach has wilted.
- Remove from heat and transfer cooked mixture to a mesh strainer. With a spatula, gently press mixture in the strainer to remove excess moisture.
- Transfer mixture to a cutting board and roughly chop.
- Place chopped mixture into a mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix thouroughly.
- With an ice cream scoop or ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop the mixture into your hand and form smooth flat patties. Place them onto a sheet tray as you go.
- Heat remaining ½ cup of oil (8 tbsp) over medium heat until hot enough to fry. It should be at about 365 degrees F. Place patties into the hot oil in small batches. Fry until brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Place on a paper towel or rack to drain.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
I’m wondering if this will still work without the egg. I need a vegan dish for Passover.
Tried this recipe last night. I never make mashed potatoes, but I did for this recipe and these little patties were delicious!! I followed your directions carefully, and was not disappointed. I used grapeseed oil to avoid a smoky kitchen. When I try new recipes, my husband usually tells me not to try them again. But this one – definitely a winner!!
Hi Tori,
This looks delicious and probably close to the football-shaped vegetarian kofta my former mother-in-law made me when I lived in Israel. I see one of your posters said a flax egg works fine for this, but have chia seeds handy at the moment. Would it alter anything in the recipe? If so, it’s off to the store for a small bag of flax!
Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Claudia! I haven’t tried it, to be honest… guessing if a flax egg works well, a chia will also work well – but I haven’t tested either option.
Thank you soo much for this recipe. My parents were polish jews who came to this country in the 20’s. My mom always made this for me as a special favorite. It didn’t have the onion or garlic, and she mashed in carrots, and fried in butter. We called them spinach latkes. She always used frozen chopped spinach. I’ve looked for this recipe over the years and never found it before. Btw- for Passover she used matzah meal. You have NO idea how happy I am to find this !!!! Thank you!
Hi there. Do you think I’d be able to sub out for spinich for corn? Thanks!
Not sure on proportions and if it will bind together as well as the spinach. You can try this recipe for corn: https://toriavey.com/panko-corn-pepper-schnitzel/
Hi Tory, For a gluten-free option, do you think that oats could replace the breadcrumbs or matzoh meal?
Thanks for your wonderful recipes; I’ve made many of them. Enjoyed by my family!
You can actually make them without the breadcrumbs, you would just need an additional egg and some additional potato. I haven’t done a proper recipe test of the gluten free variation, but I have made them this way successfully using extra potato and egg. As long as the patties stick together well when forming, and as long as the oil is at the right temperature for frying, it should work just fine.
Looks amazing! Do you think these would be good with sweet potatoes? (I baked too many for dinner last night! ?)
Interesting idea! You know, they might actually be really great that way! If you try it please report back. 🙂 P.S. I also made sweet potatoes for dinner last night!
Do you mean “mashed potatoes” as in potatoes mashed with butter and cream, or just plain potatoes that have been cooked and mashed?
Hi Hannah, you can actually use either in this recipe, it’s very forgiving. If you have leftover mashed potatoes use those, or you can simply mash up some boiled cooked potatoes.
I make something very similar frequently with whatever leftover potato and cheese items I have, but I am surprised at myself for never having thought of sneaking in any vegetable along the way. This one is very visible (spinach), but I find that when something tastes super great on the first bite, kids/teens mysteriously forget all about the color that it is and only bring it up as an excuse to not eat something that they didn’t want in the first place. Definitely going to try this next time I have leftover mashed potato. I can already taste it with my eyes based on the ingredient list.
Have you ever baked these instead of pan frying?
I don’t know that baking these would come out with that tasty crispy potato exterior, which is a significant tasty feature of croquette type foods in general. I made the mistake of baking (instead of frying) some black bean burgers of mine, and they were just a complete mush inside with a semi-set exterior, and no one ate them because crisp/brown = flavor. Even if just putting a tablespoon or 2 or so in a copper/nonstick pan and having somewhat of an oil base sizzling underneath these will probably add some exterior flavor. I also found that out the hard way when I thought baking Panko crumbs would brown into a tasty coating like it does on the stove top if I simply spray it with Pam. I found the trick to that was to toast them in a very very little bit of oil in a Teflon pan on the stove top FIRST while turning them frequently until golden brown, let them cool, then proceed with the recipe as usual in the oven. Then you’re basically having a tiny bit of oil shared between the many servings of these recipes, if you’re looking to cut out fat/oil significantly.