Swiss Chard Fritters

I don't know why, but sometimes I just can't find words to say something before the recipe. This is one of those "empty" moments. No matter how much I enjoyed this recipe I don't know what to say about it except that if you're looking for something quick and delicious, do give these a try. I had them for lunch and I found them perfect. With some cottage cheese and salad, I didn't need anything else. With kids at home now at lunch time and everyone asking for something different, it's not easy to try new things and satisfy everyone.
My tiny vegetable garden has only two vegetables this year - zucchini and Swiss chard. The kind of Swiss chard I planted is the one with tiny, tender leaves, almost like spinach, so I thought they could perfectly substitute baby spinach that the original recipe called for. I even like better that earthy flavor (don't know how else to describe it), than the spinach. And of course, whatever has been just picked up tastes much better than the stuff from a sealed bag.
Well, we should be off to the seaside any moment, just for the day, the heat in town is becoming unbearable and we need a little change in our daily routine and a little fun and refreshment.

Swiss Chard / Spinach  Fritters
(from february issue of Cucina naturale magazine)

* 2 eggs
* 150 g flour
* 150 ml milk
* 20 g di butter
* a little baking powder 
* 1 TBspoon finely chopped parsley 
* 100 g baby swiss chard or baby spinach
* salt and pepper
* extra virgin olive oil

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl. Mix in the flour and then gradually the milk making attention not to leave any lumps.
Add the melted butter, the baking powder, the parsley, salt and pepper to your taste. In the end, stir in the swiss chard or baby spinach cut into tiny strips. You should obtain pretty dense batter.
Heat 2 TBspoons of oil in s skillet. Drop spoonfulls of batter and cook them for a couple minutes. Flip them and cook for one more minute. Continue with the remaining batter adding more oil if necessary.
Serve these fritters with some fresh cheese, like cottage chese or similar, and a seasonal fresh salad.

Frittelline con erbette / spinaci
(da Cucina naturale, numero di febbraio)


* 2 uova
* 150 g di farina
* 150 ml di latte
* 20 g di burro
* la punta di un cucchiaino di lievito per dolci non vanigliato
* 1 cucchiaio di prezzemolo tritato 
* 100 g di erbette/bietoline o spinaci da insalata
* sale, pepe
* olio extra vergine d'oliva


Mescolate con una frusta a mano le uova con la farina, aggiungete gradualmente il latte facendo l'attenzione a non formare i grumi.
Unite il burro fuso, il lievito, il prezzemolo, una presa di sale e pepe, e alla fine le foglie di erbette o spinaci tagliate a striscioline sottili.  Dovete ricavare una pastella piuttosto consistente.
Scaldate in una padella 2 cucchiaio di olio EVO. Mettete cucchiaiate del composto nella padella ottenendo frittelle di circa 7-8 cm di diametro. Cuocetele a fiamma moderata per un paio di minuti, poi giratele e cuocete ancora per un minuto. Continuate con il restante composto aggiungendo altro olio se necessario.
Servite le frittelline con formaggio freschi tipo stracchino, fiocchi di latte o simili e un'insalata.

Palačinkice s mladom blitvom / špinatom
(iz časopisa Cucina naturale)


* 2 jaja
* 150 g brašna
* 150 ml mlijeka
* 20 g di maslaca
* na vrh žličice praška za pecivo
* 1 žlica sitno nasjeckanog lista peršina 
* 100 g mlade blitve ili špinata za salatu
* sol i papar
* extra djevičansko maslinovo ulje


Pomiješajte ručnom pjenjačom jaja s brašnom. Dodajte postepeno mlijeko da dobijete smjesu bez grumenčića. Umiješajte otopljeni maslac, prašak za pecivo, peršin, malo soli i papra i na kraju blitvicu ili špinat narezane na tanke trakice. Trebali biste dobiti dosta gustu smjesu.
Zagrijte u tavi 2 žlice maslinovog ulja pa stavljajte žlicom smjesu oblikujući hrpice promjera 7-8 cm. Pecite ih par minuta, a zatim preokrenite pa pecite još jednu minutu s druge strane. Nastavite peći ostatak smjese dodajući po potrebi ulja.
Poslužite ih uz svježi sir po želji i salatu.