Spinach, Tofu, and Potato Bites

Buzzfeed recently had a post on vegetarian passover food. With the holiday soon approaching us and my parents hosting our seder I feel extra pressure to come up with something good that is vegan. But hey, this recipe is something I would eat regardless of the time of year because it is so tasty. The folks over at May I Have That Recipe? call them Spinach Potato Nest Bites, which is a much cuter name than I could ever come up with. The recipe suggests to serve them as appetizers or eat a few and call it a meal, the latter of which I did for breakfast this morning. I modified it to make it vegan friendly and was very pleased!

Spinach, Tofu, and Potato Bites (makes 12)

1 package extra firm tofu
2 medium russet potatoes
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
3/4 tsp. sea salt, divided
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
4 tsp. canola oil, divided
4 cups (1 bag) fresh spinach
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbls. nutritional yeast

Start pressing the tofu and preheat your oven to 400 F. While the tofu is pressing, wash and peel the potatoes and grate finely. I did this using a food processor which made the task much easier, but be prepared for some arm work if you don't have one. Squeeze as much extra water as you can out of the grated potatoes and transfer to a medium bowl. Mix in the onion powder, 1/2 tsp. of sea salt, the black pepper, and 2 tsp. canola oil using your hands until well-mixed.

Spray a muffin tin. Using about 1 Tbls. of the potato mixture per well, shape the potato around the bottom and sides of each well to form a "nest." Bake for 15 minutes.

Post-baking. They could be a bit darker.

While the potato is baking, chop the spinach as finely as you can (again, the food processor is handy) and transfer to a medium bowl. Crumble in the tofu and mix in the remaining ingredients using your hands. When the potato cups are done, distribute the spinach mixture evenly amongst all the cups and bake for 12 minutes.

Pre-baking

Let cool on a wire rack. Use a plastic knife to run around each potato cup to loosen it before removing. Remove carefully using a spatula.