Many years ago, when I first discovered that I was pregnant, I found myself in a Sunday afternoon yoga class. It was one of those overly warm and muggy Toronto days with the sun filtering orange through the windows of a peaceful second floor studio. It happened to be mother’s day. The instructor had us come to a seated position with our eyes closed and our bodies quiet. Once everything was still, she spoke one sentence:
So, with mother’s day upon us, I thought it might be nice to feature a celebratory brunch bite or dinner appetizer.
These nutritious lemony bites are also a delicious and elegant way of working in some of those underutilized power greens into the diet.
They are rolled in a mixture of ricotta and sunflower seeds and finished with a dusting of ground almond. You can serve them simply on a singular tray with toothpicks or, for a slightly fancier look, on individual serving spoons with a dollop of plain yogurt and lemon zest as shown in the picture.
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1 yellow onion, finely chopped
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3 garlic cloves, minced
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6 cups kale, chopped (you could also use spinach, swissh chard or bok choy)
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Joice of one lemon
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Zest of one lemon
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1 cup ricotta cheese
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1/2 cup sunflower seeds
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1 egg
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sea salt & coarse black pepper to taste
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3/4 cup ground almond
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1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt and some extra lemon zest for serving
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Heat oven to 400 F.
Sauté onion and garlic over low heat in a large skillet with olive oil until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add kale and cook, stirring, for another 5 minutes or until wilted and soft. Remove skillet from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Magic of Spice says
These are so delightful, and very elegant! Hope you had an amazing Mothers Day!
inspirededibles says
Thanks Nami! It’s a different and yummy way of integrating kale into the diet… plus, I bet your kids would never know they were in these mini ‘meat’ balls ;-). Thanks for stopping by. I hope you had a beautiful mother’s day weekend ~
inspirededibles says
True enough! I like your practicality ;-)
inspirededibles says
Hi Jeanette – thank you very much… it’s a fun way to present them for an occasion.
inspirededibles says
Thanks so much Stephanie – they’re definitely fun and quite delicious too.
inspirededibles says
Me too :) Thanks Yummy.
inspirededibles says
Thank you Chris – I hope you had a beautiful mother’s day!
inspirededibles says
Thanks Kristy. I had a great weekend and wondeful mother’s day puttering in the yard and just hanging with the boys. Your post made me smile for two days straight – truly. Just loved it.
inspirededibles says
Aww, thank you so much Anne! I had a wonderful weekend full of sunshine and laughter and the company of all my boys – couldn’t ask for more! :)
inspirededibles says
Thanks foodjaunts – kale balls indeed! ;0) I find the lemon adds for sure…
inspirededibles says
This is good.
Hee.hee.
Agreed! :)
inspirededibles says
Oh dear… time to update the calendar :0) – You can use any greens really in these little bites… cheers Charles!
inspirededibles says
Haha, thanks so much for your kind words Lisa! I hope you enjoy if you give it a try :)
inspirededibles says
Thanks MJ – I had a wonderful day and very much enjoyed reading your Mother’s day dedication post… it was beautiful.
inspirededibles says
Thank you so much Kim… I hope you had a lovely weekend xo
inspirededibles says
Thank you Kelli – great to have you visit! :)
inspirededibles says
Thanks so much for letting me know! Happy to hear it :0)
inspirededibles says
Spadina, love it! Thanks so much Eva; mother’s day was lots of fun in the company of my boys! :)
inspirededibles says
Ah! Thanks Sissi, I think you do have a little Japanese in you… this plate comes from one of my favourite Japanese stores… I often just browse (even when not buying) because their items are just so pretty…
inspirededibles says
mmm… the chili/parm combo sounds pretty wonderful too! Thanks KoKo!
inspirededibles says
They’re cute; aren’t they? And if you can find a bunch at an economical price, it’s worthwhile.
inspirededibles says
Merci, Merci, Merci
xox
inspirededibles says
Why thank you Mandy! I hope you’re having a splendid day :)
inspirededibles says
Thanks Angie; they’re really yummy and easy to assemble.
inspirededibles says
I like it too… I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s day Alyssa ~
Nami says
This is a super healthy bites! I’ve never seen kale in a shape of ball. Such a cute presentation too!
beyondthepeel says
They look gorgeous and perfect for eating with your hands. I love finger food because it means less dishes. LOL
Jeanette Chen says
What a pretty presentation for these healthy little bites! Very creative.
Eva says
I brought our my spoons yesterday for my Caesar Shrimp for d’œuvres, thanks for the inspiration, Kelly!
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. says
This is a beautiful appetizer, Kelly! Lemon and kale are a perfect combo!
Yummychunklet says
I’m a sucker for the tasting spoons. These look great!
The Café Sucré Farine says
What a fun and pretty way of serving a delicious sounding appetizer – thanks Kelly!
Kristy says
We are all born of mothers. Indeed. Love it Kelly!!!! And how amazing that you learned of your soon-to-be motherhood on Mother’s Day! So awesome! I love your serving spoons. I’ve seen these around and just think they are so darn cute. I’m going to have to check the dollar store for sure. I hope you’re having a great weekend Kelly and have an amazing Mother’s Day. I’m loving this appetizer. Lemon – it doesn’t get any better. :)
Anne@FromMySweetHeart says
Wow Kelly….simple, delicious and elegant…..just like everything else you do! I hope you have a great weekend and a wonderful Mother’s Day!
Foodjaunts says
Oh they’re like kale “meat”balls! What a fantastic use of kale, and I love that they’re got the contrast of the nuts. The lemon must act as a person accent to the dish.
Suzi says
Kale and lemons, this is good. Great little tasty bites and that is such a cute presentation.
Charles Smith says
Hi Kelly – great quote! I just wish the world would become standardised for Mothers’ day. I called up my mom one day on the “French” mothers’ day to say hi, only to be told that the “English” mothers’ day was a couple of months back… oops :s
Lovely little bites – still haven’t seen kale here alas, but I can appreciate them from afar!
Lisa says
Kelly, you really have out done yourself. What a great recipe! I can’t wait to try it!
mjskit says
What delicious little healthy bites! Kale is so versatile and is just good no matter how it’s fixed. I love the mix of goodness you have here! Great spoons! Hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend!
My Inner Chick says
–Gorgeous Presentation. I love the food served upon those white spoons.
Happy Mother’s Day, Kelly. Xxxxx
inspirededibles says
Hi Rebecca, thanks for dropping in.
If you wanted to treat yourselves to a special outing, I would recommend Treadwell Farm to Table Cuisine just outside the Niagara region (about an hour + 1/2 drive from Toronto) – the resto and region are well worth the trip – Treadwell is situated in the heart of Ontario wine country, it boasts an exquisite wine list, farm to table cuisine and is around the corner from Niagara Falls. Here is the website of the restaurant if you’d like to investigate and make resos: http://www.treadwellcuisine.com/
Kelli @ The Corner Kitchen says
Yum!!! These look so good!!
Eva says
Lovely spoons, I got mine at Tap Phong on Spadina! So much fun.
It is a lovely brunch hors d’œuvres idea, I really love the flavours in this little bite, with the ricotta. Hope you have a wonderful Mother’s day, Kelly.
Sissi says
Kelly, these healthy bites sound fantastic! The recipe is as always surprising and very creative. I still have to start cooking kale… The spoons are cute, but I have fallen in love with the rectangular plate! It has such beautiful, joyful colours!
Koko says
Ohhh lovely!!! Lemon and kale- perfect!! I do a kale dish with chili and parmesan and it’s great, but I love how you use ricotta in this. So many kale recipes are vegan, but I’ve found cheese is a great pairing with it!
Jen says
Those make such beautiful little bites! Those are my favorite dishes at a brunch!
CJ at Food Stories says
Choc Chip Uru gave me the versatile blogger award and now I’m passing it on to you. Check it out at http://foodstoriesblog.com/2012/05/10/sandwich-bites-with-sweet-mustard-sauce-blog-love-part-2/
Sallybr2008 says
Beautiful post, beautiful recipe, beautiful message
A very happy Mother’s Day for you!
Mandy says
What a unique and intriguing recipe – sounds fabulous and I LOVE the way you present the dish.
:-) Mandy
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
What an original and delicious kale recipe!
Alyssa3002 says
I like that quote. And these look like the perfect healthy bite for a Mother’s day brunch!
Rebecca says
My husband and I will be in Toronto for Memorial Day weekend (we live in VA). We have never visited the city before and would love some restaurant recommendations. I’m all about supporting local farms and the farm to table concept… any ideas?