Spinach patties

To prepare spinach patties, start by cooking the spinach. Heat the oil and the garlic 1 in a capacious pan, gradually add the spinach 2 and put the lid on to sweat them 3.

When the spinach is cooked, remove the garlic 4 and place them in a sieve to drain the water 5. When they cool down, drain and finely chop them with a knife 6.

In the meantime, dice the old bread 7, place in a bowl and add the milk 8 to soften it: this will take around 10 minutes, depending on how hard the bread is. Stir the bread in by hand, to amalgamate it well 9.

Place the spinach in a capacious bowl, along with the softened bread 10 and the grated cheese 11; flavor with the grated nutmeg 12.

Add the thyme leaves 13, the egg 14 and salt to taste. Stir by hand 15 to amalgamate the mixture.

Now add the breadcrumbs too, adjust the amounts used according to the consistency of the dough 16. Stir once more 17, cover with plastic wrap 18 and leave to rest in the refrigerator for around 30 minutes.

Once the 30 minutes are up, take the dough and shape 9 cutlets by hand, each around 3 oz (85 g) 19, then place them on a tray lined with parchment paper 20. Leave to harden in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes. Beat the eggs with a little salt. Once the hardening time is up for the patties, dip them in the egg 21.

Now dip them in the breadcrumbs 22 and repeat for each pattie 23. Fry them in the hot oil at around 340°F (170°C) for around 4-5 minutes 24.

When golden 25, drain them onto a tray with absorbent kitchen paper 26 and serve them nice and hot 27.