This Venetian Jewish dish makes a great starter or finger food. The recipe calls for both fresh and dried breadcrumbs. For soft crumbs, challah works well but sourdough is also good. If you prefer your croquettes bright green, just fry them without a coating. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice or crème fraiche.

Method

• Wash the spinach and (still wet) put it in a deep saucepan with the coarse/kosher salt, cover and cook over high heat for 4–5 minutes, stirring once or twice.

• Once wilted and tender, drain it, rinse in cold water and, using your hands, squeeze out as much of the water as you can. Roughly chop.

• Heat a non-stick frying pan over a low heat, add 2 tbsp of the oil and the garlic, and cook for a minute or two until lightly golden. Add the chopped spinach and a pinch of salt and of pepper, then stir and sauté, uncovered, over a low to medium heat for 8–10 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

• Soak the soft breadcrumbs in the milk, then mash them into a pulp until all the liquid has soaked in. Gently beat the egg and extra yolk in a medium bowl and add to the bread/milk mixture, then add the nutmeg, Parmesan, dried breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt. Add the spinach and mix well.

• Use your hands to mould the mixture into round or oblong shapes, about 3cm long and 1cm thick.

• Heat the remaining oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the croquettes and shallow-fry for a couple of minutes on each side until golden. TIP: If you like them crunchier, roll the shaped croquettes in the 50g dried panko breadcrumbs before frying.

• Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and a spoonful of creme fraiche on the side (if desired).

Extracted from Jewish Flavours of Italy (Green Bean Books)