Stuffed Chard Recipes

STUFFED SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Choose 12 large chard leaves (each should be about 10 inches long and 5 inches wide) or 24 smaller leaves; set aside. Coarsely chop enough of the remaining leaves to make 4 1/2 cups; reserve remaining leaves for another use. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add a pinch of salt. Blanch whole leaves, 1 at a time, until tender and bright green, about 5 seconds. Lay flat on a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain.
• Melt butter with oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add leeks, scallions, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add chopped chard, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chard has wilted, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a medium bowl, and add pine nuts; let stand until cool. Stir in rice, cheeses, and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place a blanched leaf facedown on a work surface. Cut out thickest part of stalk, about one-third of the way up leaf; slightly overlap the cut ends. If using smaller leaves, overlap 2 leaves so they are about 10 by 5 inches. Spoon 1/3 cup filling about one-third of the way up leaf. Fold bottom of leaf over mixture. Fold in sides. Roll to enclose filling completely, creating a 3-by-2-inch bundle. Repeat with remaining leaves and filling.
• Transfer to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Tent with foil. Bake until heated through, about 15 minutes. Spoon warm sauce onto plates; serve 2 or 3 bundles per plate.

CHARD LEAVES STUFFED WITH RICE AND HERBS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch the chard leaves and stems for 20 to 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl of cold water, then drain and cut away the stems at the base. Next cut out the wide part of the stem remaining inside the leaf, cutting a V at the base where it connects with the leaf. Set aside the leaves and cut the stems into small dice (about 1/4 inch). Set aside 1/2 cup of the blanching water for the baking dish.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-low heat and add the onion. Cook, stirring until very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the diced chard stems and a generous pinch of salt and continue to cook until the stems are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Remove from the heat.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a baking dish that can accommodate all of the chard rolls. In a large bowl mix together the rice, onion mixture, herbs, Aleppo pepper and currants if using. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Place 2 tablespoons of the filling on each chard leaf. Tuck the sides over the filling and roll up the leaves. Place in the baking dish. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top and place 1/2 cup water in the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, until the chard rolls are hot and the leaves tender. They should retain their bright green color.

GROUND BEEF & POTATOES SKILLET

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef, cumin, salt and pepper; cook, stirring often to break up the meat, until evenly browned, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a paper-towel-lined plate; do not wipe out the pan. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the drippings in the pan. Add potatoes; cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes begin to caramelize and are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to the plate with the beef.
• Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and poblano; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 6 minutes. Add garlic; cook, stirring often, until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add kale and tomatoes; cook, stirring often, until the kale is wilted and the tomatoes are heated through, about 3 minutes. Stir in the beef and potatoes. Sprinkle with scallions, if desired.

STUFFED SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Using fresh Swiss Chard, place leaves in hot water for 10 minutes to soften for rolling (if the leaves are too large cut in half).
• Remove the ribs from the leaf.
• Set leaves aside.
• Drain chick peas.
• Combine the skinned chick peas, half of the lemon juice, and all other ingredients except Swiss Chard and water.
• Mix well.
• Place a tablespoon of the filling lengthwise on a leaf bringing the edges about 1/2 inch toward the centre and rolling as fingers.
• Arrange in saucepan, alternating the direction of each layer.
• Add the other 1/2 cup lemon juice and enought water to reach just below the level of the last row.
• Bring to boil, then cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes .
• All water should have evaporated.
• If not, remove lid and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
• Place a plate over top of the pan and holding plate and pot securly together, turn upsidedown so all the rolls remain in the same mold on the plate as the pan.
• Serve with yogurt.

LAMB STUFFED CHARD LEAVES

Steps:

• Place a large pot of water on the stove to boil. About 2 gallons of water will do.
• Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
• Being careful not to tear the chard leaves, cut the rib from the center of each leaf.
• Once the water begins to boil, add a nice sprinkle of salt to the water. Organize a large bowl filled with ice water and set it close by. Add the chard leaves to the boiling water. Allow them to boil until soft and pliable, about 45 to 60 seconds. Remove them from the boiling water (with a slotted spoon, or simply by pouring it into a strainer). Quickly plunge the leaves into the bowl of ice water and move them around until the leaves are sufficiently chilled. Dry the leaves on paper towels. They don't need to be super dry, but they shouldn't be water logged, either. Just "dry enough".
• Mix together the tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger and olive oil with half of each: cinnamon, coriander and cayenne. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Mix well.
• Place about one-fourth of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a standard casserole dish (13"x9").
• In a bowl, mix the ground lamb, eggs, pine nuts, raisins and half of each: cinnamon, coriander and cayenne. Blend well with a little salt and pepper.
• Place a chard leaf on the counter top and form a nice big sheet. Usually this means overlapping the two halves, forming a bit of a seam where the large rib used to be. Place a nice sized log of the ground lamb mixture about 2/3rds of the way down from the top of the sheet. Fold the bottom portion of the leaf over the meat, then fold the two side flaps over the meat. Finally, roll the whole meat log towards the tip of the remaining flap, leaving the tip of the flap on the bottom of the roll. Place the stuffed chard in the bottom of the casserole pan. Repeat this process until all 16 stuffed leaves are in the pan.
• Cover the chard leaves with the remaining sauce and spread it evenly.
• Cover the pan (with a lid or foil) and bake for about 50 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the stuffed chard reaches 155 F. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.
• Serve!

STUFFED SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Soak the short grain rice in water half an hour before
• Finely chop the parsley, tomatoes, mint and onions. Add to a bowl
• Add the rice, salt, 7 spice, tomato concentrate, olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon to the bowl and stir well
• Wash and separate the swiss chard leaves, then blanche in a pot of boiling water for no more than five minutes. Stack onto a plate to cool
• Prepare your work area with one tray to roll the chard leaves beside the stuffing and cooking pot
• Lay out one swiss chard leaf on the tray and remove the thickest part of the stem. If the leaf is very large you can split it into two longways
• Add 1-2 tablespoons of stuffing near the base of the chard leaf. Bring the leaves in from the side and roll upwards firmly. Adjust the mixture amount depending on the size of the leaf
• Stack the rolled chard leaves neatly in the pot in layers If you have too much liquid in the mixture drain some onto the stacked leaves using a fine sieve
• Leave around 10cm clear at the top of the pot as the chard leaves will expand when cooked
• When you finish stacking the pot, add half a tablespoon each of salt and 7 spice to 1 cup of water to cover
• Press down the chard leaves with a sturdy plate or lid one size smaller than your pot. Pour on the brine and turn the heat on to medium high
• After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to low and remove the plate/lid. Taste the brine that has come to the surface and adjust the salt/lemon levels as necessary. Cook for another 45 minutes on the lowest heat setting.
• Taste one chard roll before you turn the heat off to make sure the rice is cooked properly

STUFFED SWISS CHARD LEAVES

Steps:

• Put a large pot of water on to boil.
• While it comes to a boil, trim the Swiss chard : cut out the stem, but also cut out any of the larger white "ribs" so the leaf will be very flexible and easy to work with.
• Finely chop the stems and set them aside.
• Blanch the chard leaves , dipping them into the boiling water until they wilt, about 30 seconds, drain and rinse with cold water to plunge into a bowl of ice water to cool and set the green color.
• Chop 1 of the onions, mince the garlic, and peel and finely chop carrots and/or parsnip. In a large saute pan, braising pan, or wide pot, heat the oil.
• Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and saute, cooking and stirring frequently until the onion is soft and translucent about 3 minutes.
• Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the carrot(s) and/or parsnip and the chard stems to the onion mixture and cook, stirring frequently until the vegetables are tender about 10 minutes total.
• Transfer the vegetables to a large mixing bowl.
• Add the rice and combine, then add the lamb and black pepper and mix to combine. Set aside.
• Wipe out the pan.
• Add the tomatoes, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Peel and halve the other onion and add it to the tomatoes.
• Add the chile flakes, if using. Simmer the tomatoes over medium-low heat, reducing the heat if needed to keep the tomatoes simmering very gently until the butter separates out from the tomatoes and the onion is very soft, about 30 minutes.
• Taste and add more salt to taste, if you like.
• While the sauce simmers, prepare the stuffed chard leaves. Working with 1 leaf at a time, squeeze any excess water from the leaf and lay it on a clean, flat work surface. Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of the stuffing at one end of the leaf. Bring the shorter end of the leaf over the stuffing, fold in the sides to encase the stuffing, and then roll up with the remaining leaf. If you know how to fold a burrito or spring roll, it's the same principle; if you don't, don't worry about it-any way you get the stuffing encased and folded into the leaf will be fine. Wrap it like a package, just roll it up and tuck in the sides. The leaves are flexible and the final product can have your unique stamp.
• Remove the onion halves from the tomato sauce and discard them.
• Add about 1/2 cup water to the tomato sauce and bring back to a simmer.
• Set the stuffed chard leaves in the tomato sauce, cover, and cook until the meat and rice are cooked through and tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Check on the pot occasionally - if the tomato sauce seems too thick or is starting to stick to the pan, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water and sort of stir it in between the chard bundles and adjust the heat to maintain a steady but gentle simmer. Serve the Swiss chard bundles hot, with the sauce on top or on the side, as people like.