Recipe: Spinach and Cheese Dumplings with Tomato-Date Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

250 g spinach

50 g Parmesan cheese

80 g tomato paste

60 g soft dates

250 g ciabatta bread

125 ml milk

2 eggs

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

100 g unsalted butter

50 g breadcrumbs

60 ml water

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp salt

Parmesan cheese (for garnish)

parsley (for garnish)

Roughly dice ciabatta bread and transfer to a large bowl. Peel and finely dice onion and garlic and finely chop spinach. In a frying pan, heat butter and sauté onion, garlic and spinach for approx. 3 – 5 min. Add milk to the pan and bring to a boil. Pour milk mixture over the bread cubes, mix well and season with salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and pour into the bowl as well. Allow to soak for approx. 5 – 10 min.

Preheat the oven to 100°C on full steam. Meanwhile, finely grate Parmesan cheese and add it to the soaked bread cubes and knead thoroughly. Add breadcrumbs. Knead again, then allow to sit for approx. 30 min. Meanwhile, check texture of the dumpling mixture: if it’s too dry, add some more milk, if it’s too soft, add more breadcrumbs. Tightly roll into balls and transfer onto a steaming tray. Bake with full steam for approx. 25 min.

In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Put dates in a small bowl and add a dash of boiling water, then allow to soak for approx. 5 min. Rinse and add to a food processor, together with tomato paste, water, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. Pulse until it becomes a smooth sauce. To make brown butter, in a small pan melt butter until golden brown. Remove spinach and cheese dumplings from the oven and serve with tomato and date sauce and brown butter. Garnish with extra Parmesan cheese and parsley. Enjoy!