Wild Greens (And Cheese) Patties Recipe- Gluten Free, Egg Free, Dirt Cheap, Paleo Option

Sorry for the decreased posting frequency lately. I've had a bit of a crazy week, as you probably can understand, what with my daughter's birthday and holiday season, etc! Hopefully this next week I will be back to posting with a vengeance- I have many amazing post ideas in the back of my brain just waiting to be written...

For now though- here's a great frugal recipe I've made recently- with foraged wild greens. It can be made with pretty much any wild greens you pick (I used a mix of sow thistle and mallow, but I've made with with a variety of other greens as well). It can also be made with greens that come attached to purchased root vegetables, like turnips, beets, radishes, etc... (And if you don't buy the greens, some stores or stalls in farmers markets will even give you these tops free). Alternatively, you can also make this with store bought greens, like spinach or swiss chard or kale or mustard greens... it just won't be as cheap.

I've made this a few times recently and this last time added some goat cheese (roquefort- my daughter can handle me eating aged goat and sheep cheeses, but not other dairy) into mine which added a terrific kick to it... though I'll admit it increased the cost. You can use any other cheese in it- not just expensive stuff- or you can leave the cheese out entirely to make it vegan/allergy friendly.

Oh- and did I mention that this recipe is naturally gluten free and egg free? Though, of course, you can make it with gluten or eggs if you  want to make it cheaper or with what you have available. Another bonus- these are relatively low carb as well, so they're great diet food. (If you want to make it super low carb, try replacing both the flour and the flax seeds with two eggs- I haven't tried it that way, though I'm sure it'll be great.)

Hope you liked it as much as I did!

Wild Greens (And Cheese) Patties Recipe- Gluten Free, Egg Free, Dirt Cheap, Paleo Option

Ingredients:
More than 1/2 cup chopped cooked greens (water squeezed out)- either wild greens, vegetable tops, or standard greens
1/4 cup all purpose gluten free flour mix (I used green buckwheat flour, but you can use any AP mix, or regular wheat or spelt flour if gluten isn't an issue for you)
1/8 cup ground flax seeds (or one egg)
1/4 cup water (optional- see instructions below)
1 small onion
1/4 cup cheese (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon if not using cheese)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional if using cheese)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional if using cheese)
Oil for frying

Instructions:
1. The first step is cooking the greens. I tried making it once without cooking them first and it all fell apart, barely held together. Greens lose a lot of their mass once cooked, so just trust me on this one and don't try to save yourself work by skipping this step. You can cook the greens how you want- sauted, steamed, blanched, etc... doesn't matter. Or you can even use something like frozen spinach. This is something that is very versatile- it just needs greens, doesn't really matter which. If you're using something bitter, like certain wild greens (milk thistle, wild mustard, dandelion greens, sow thistle, etc...) or tops from veggies (turnip greens, radish greens, etc...), I suggest boiling them in salted water for a few minutes until soft, and then squeezing out the liquid. This is a good way to remove the bitterness (along with some of the nutrients) to make it more palatable. (I've been taking this liquid and drinking it warm, along with a bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice, though its an aquired taste.) If you're not using bitter greens, squeezing out the liquid is less imperative- though if you don't squeeze out the liquid, don't add the water at first to the recipe- only add if you see its needed.)
If you have greens like lettuce (romaine or otherwise) that accidentally got frozen and you think they're unsalvageable- they can be used for this recipe as well, no worries.

2. Once your greens are cooked, chop them very well. You can put them in a food processor but its not necessary if you just chop it to small enough pieces.

3. Mince an onion very finely.

4. Add the onions to your greens, add everything else other than the cheese, and then mix until uniform.

5. If adding cheese, crumble or chop finely, then mix into your mixture.

6. Form into patties, then fry in a little oil , on a low heat in a non stick pan (either cast iron or another pan lined with parchment paper to make it non stick- I avoid teflon like the plague), until fully cooked, then flip onto the other side and then cook. Alternatively, you can bake these on very lightly greased parchment paper (haven't done that myself yet, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work).

Enjoy!

What is your favorite way to prepare greens especially more "exotic" cheap or wild greens? Ever made them into patties before? Does this look like a recipe you'd try?

Linking up to Allergy Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday