Frittering the Summer Away (Auntie's Fabulous Broccoli Fritters)

I am in electrical appliance hell.

I don’t know what I ever did to appliances to deserve what’s happened in 2006, but whatever it was, my appliance karma is seriously out of whack. You’ve read about the refrigerator and its death throes; you’re read about the dishwasher’s dastardly defiance; you’ve read about the microwave mutiny…now, here in Phoenix, Arizona, in the middle of summer, I awoke yesterday to every Arizonan’s worst nightmare – the air conditioner DIED. Considering it costs anywhere from $3,000 to $8,000 to replace an air-conditioning unit these days, this had the potential to be fairly catastrophic, as the cost might be more than my net worth. We were able to get it repaired fairly inexpensively, but the repairman ominously intoned that the 20-year old unit is teetering on its last legs….so now we’re sitting vigil on our air-conditioning unit, which is a necessity item, not a luxury, when temperatures are routinely over 110º F here in the summer. All I could think when the Hubster awakened me with the news yesterday of yet another appliance meltdown was “make the lambs stop screaming.” (If you’re too young to get the pop culture reference, just ignore the last sentence.)


Back to Work…


I’m always hearing parents comment that they can’t get their kids to eat vegetables, certainly not a new lament. So, I’ve decided to publish my world-famous Spinot Bomba recipe, developed by my great-aunt, handed down in the family. I absolutely guarantee that if you make this recipe, not only will your kids love it, but they’ll ask for it again (I get asked for the recipe wherever I make it), and it’s a great way to get them on the road to eating and enjoying vegetables. This “Broccoli Fritter” can be made with either frozen spinach or frozen broccoli, so you can vary it. It’s easy-peasy to make, only 5 ingredients, but it takes a bit of watching while cooking, so if you’re planning to make it, do it on a night when your other half is grilling the meat or chicken, or you’re cooking a tenderloin or roast in the oven – something that you don’t have to watch very much. If you want to get an idea of what the finished product will look like, visit this link – our finished product will look very similar, but ignore that chef’s toppings.

Spinot Bomba (Broccoli Fritters, or Spinach Fritters)

• 1 package (usually 9-10 ozs.) chopped frozen broccoli, cooked & drained, allow to cool;
• 3 medium-sized eggs, separated
• 3 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Oil
• ½ Teaspoon Salt

In large bowl, combine egg yolks, flour, oil and salt; mix well. Add enough water to make a thick, creamy mix. Add in broccoli and mix well.

In separate bowl, whip egg whites until they form stiff, not soft, peaks.

Heat lightly oiled frying pan on medium-low to medium heat on stove.

Now, gently fold egg whites into egg-broccoli mixture. After the egg whites and egg-broccoli mixture are combined, drop mixture by 1 tablespoon each into lightly oiled frying pan. Mixture will start to spread, and then stop as it cooks. After about 30 seconds – 1 minute, flip fritters over, finish cooking on other side. Fritters should be lightly golden brown on each side, this doesn’t take long, so don’t overcook. Serve alone, or (my favorite) with butter as a topping. Yummm.

NOTE: Click on this link if you need any help in separating eggs (yolks from whites), beating whites or folding whites into batter. This page has delightful, step-by-step instructions, even down to illustrations - perfect for novices.

Variation: Before mixing up the egg-broccoli mix, fry up 4 slices of bacon in the frying pan you’re going to use, cook bacon well. Remove bacon from pan, allow to cool, then crumble into small pieces and add to the egg-broccoli mixture in the first step. Reserve bacon fat to use when frying the fritters, adding a small amount to the oiled frying pan. This variation is FANTASTIC, and my personal favorite.

Variation 2: Substitute one package (9-10 ozs.) frozen chopped spinach, and use the bacon as well. This is the original “Spinot Bomba” recipe, and is also terrific; make sure you drain the cooked spinach thoroughly.

Make-Ahead Note: This recipe can be doubled or tripled, but do not make the mixture up ahead of time, as once combined, the egg whites rapidly lose their volume, and the mixture will become “soupy,” and will not fry and puff up properly. You can make up everything ahead of time EXCEPT the egg whites, so if you want to prepare everything early, mix up the egg-broccoli mixture, but place it and the separated egg whites in the refrigerator until you are ready to whip up the whites and add them to the egg-broccoli or egg-spinach mixture. I'd take the egg-broccoli mixture out of the fridge a little ahead of time, allow it to come back up to room temperature before whipping and then folding in the egg yolks.

Again – this recipe is absolutely fantastic, and guaranteed to knock their socks off. If you try it, please come back here and let me know that you liked it!

Please note: all images on this site are properly paid for and legally licensed from istockphoto.com. Please do not rip them off!