1.3 lbs ground chicken
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
10 oz. fresh spinach
2 Tbsp. butter
wooden spoon handles or wooden sticks of same length and diameterPut a pot of water on to boil. The pot should be deep, so that when the spoon handles are placed in the pot, the majority of the handle is covered. Make note of how much of the handle is covered.
Mix the chicken, the eggs, the breadcrumbs, the pepper and the salt in a bowl. It should be about the consistency of meatloaf. Take a handful of mixture and form it into a thick carrot shape. Make it wavy and as much like a carrot as your artistic skill enables you. Take a wooden spoon handle, and push it into the center of the formed chicken, about two-thirds of the way through. (Think of a round popsicle stick.) Do this to half your spoon handles. (You will form the other half, while this batch boils.)
Take the ``carrots'' on the spoon handles, and put them into a pot of boiling water. The chicken forms should be completely covered by water. Boil them for about 10 minutes; when they start to float, it is a sign that they are done. Take them out and put the next batch in. Pull out the spoon handles; they should come out without great difficulty.
You will fill them with a spinach puree and put them in the oven. You should preheat the oven to 350° F. To make the spinach puree, remove stems and clean the spinach. Chop the spinach up, and squeeze out as much water as you can. Melt butter in a frying pan. Add the spinach and saute for about 5 minutes. Remove the spinach, squeezing out the liquid.
Use this mixture to stuff the ``carrots''. I found that the easiest way to stuff them is by hand; a pinkie has approximately the right diameter. Do not fill them too full, or they will break open.
When you have a panfull, put them in the oven at 350° F for 15 to 20 minutes. Take them out, brush melted butter over them, and serve them. This recipes serves four people.
This recipe goes very well with recipe 32, a Yellow Garlic Sauce, and based on the original, I believe that the two were intended to be served together.