Pam's Yummy Potato Spinach Balls (or Cakes!)

I've been remiss in posting lately, but October is festival month and we've been hitting up all the festivals BIG time! Now that I have a second to come up for air, I'm going to post a recipe from my friend, Pam, who has been good enough to again share with me one of her awesome recipes that she makes for her son, Ben, who is 16-months-old. What a slacker I am! I finally post, and the recipe isn't even mine! But this recipe is so good, it has to be the next thing I post.

This recipe is a fabulous potato and spinach ball recipe, which I like to smash and flatten into a cake while it's frying, and Hungry Baby, AKA Teagan, loves them just as much as Ben - she ate four earlier this week. I has to cut her off like a little barfly.

These cakes are wonderful served with sour cream or plain yogurt, and I typically follow with a fruit such as applesauce, for "dessert". The cakes are so good, my husband ate half of them before I could get them into a Ziplock and freeze them for Teagan! And they're so pretty, I should have taken a picture - next time.

Baby's Age: 10 months and up

Consistency: Slightly crunchy on the outside, soft in the center

Pam's Potato Spinach Cakes

1 teaspoon olive oil
3 oz spinach fresh baby spinach
1 medium baking potato
4 tablespoons flour
1 egg, beaten
2-3 tablespoons Parmesan, finely grated
canola oil for frying

In a medium saute pan, heat olive oil. Add spinach and saute until spinach is wilted. Transfer spinach to chopping board and finely chop, or for a smooth consistency, puree spinach in mini food processor. Set aside spinach and wipe out saute pan with a paper towel.

Meanwhile, bake potato in microwave. Scoop potato flesh into a medium bowl and discard potato skins. Mash potato with a masher. Add chopped spinach, flour, egg, and Parmesan, and stir to combine. Mixture will be slightly thick and "spoonable". If mixture is too runny, add a bit more flour.

Heat canola oil in the medium sauce pan and drop potato mixture into pan by spoonfuls, OR roll mixture into balls and drop into pan. I prefer the mixture slightly wetter, so I drop by spoonfuls. Fry for a few minutes on the first side, turning when slightly golden. After flipping, I like to press on the blob and make a little cake. If you've rolled into balls, just turn the balls. Fry for a few minutes on the second side, and voila, you're done.

Drain on a wire rack or paper towel, and serve when cool with the sour cream, yogurt, or just plain. These little cakes freeze very well.