Holiday/Italian Rice Balls

As Christmas approaches and I'm spending time with the family, I thought I'd share a recipe that has been a tradition for at least four generations, but likely dates much further back, following our Italian heritage.  My grandmother would make these for every major holiday and they were always among one of my favorites.  Italian rice balls are a simple but tasty food that makes a great appetizer or mid-day snack.  Here I introduce a slightly different take on this traditional recipe by simply adding spinach and red quinoa.  The red of the quinoa and the green of the spinach provide both the color of christmas and the Italian flag.  Another reason I've added these ingredients is to increase the nutritional quality of this traditional recipe.  For those of you unfamiliar with quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WA), this grain-like (true grains are from the grass family) staple finds its origins in the Andean Mountains of South America.   Quinoa was a major crop of the Incas and was referred to as the "mother of all grains" for its high nutritional value.  Quinoa contains important nutrients including, protein (12-18% of daily value), essential amino acids, iron (37%), folate (46%), and magnesium (53%).  The quinoa also adds a nice slightly nutty flavor to the rice ball.  Serve with marinara sauce or eat plain (my favorite).

Makes 12 rice balls

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups long grain white rice
1/4 cup red quinoa
4 1/2 cups water
1/2-1 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (Italian style)
1 or 2 eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped steamed spinach (frozen or fresh)
1-2 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning (parsley, basil, thyme, etc.)
1/4 olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Bring rice, quinoa, and water to boil and simmer until cooked
• Let the rice and quinoa cool for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to help speed up the process
• Steam spinach 
• Add rice/quinoa mixture to bowl and stir in remaining ingredients (except bread crumbs).
• Take slightly less than a 1/2 cup of the mixture (a handful) and form into a ball
• Roll or coat the rice balls in the bread crumbs (optional)
• Fry the rice balls with olive oil in a skillet or frying pan turning every few minutes so that all sides are golden brown
• Place the finished ball on a paper towel to remove and absorb excess oil
• top with grated parmesan and serve

Potential Alterations:

• go traditional, leave out quinoa and spinach
• use fresh herbs
• try it with brown rice instead of white rice to further improve the nutritional value
• use kale instead of spinach
• try it with mozzarella