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Stuffed Swiss chard

Stuffed swiss chard with rice, parsley and tomatoes

Course Main Course
Cuisine Lebanese
Keyword Authentic, Healthy, vegan
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 4
Author Zaatar and Zaytoun

Ingredients

  • 2 bunches swiss chard
  • pot of boiling water

For the stuffing

  • 1 large bunch of parsley
  • 4 medium sized tomatoes
  • 2 spring onions
  • ¼ onion or small shallot
  • pinch of fresh mint leaves
  • 1 cup short grain rice
  • 1 lemons juiced
  • ½ tablespoon tomato concentrate
  • ½ tablespoon salt
  • ½ tablespoon 7 spice
  • ¼ cup of regular olive oil

For the brine

  • 1 cup of water + ½ teaspoon of salt

Instructions

To make the stuffing

  1. Soak the short grain rice in water half an hour before
  2. Finely chop the parsley, tomatoes, mint and onions. Add to a bowl
  3. Add the rice, salt, 7 spice, tomato concentrate, olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon to the bowl and stir well

To assemble the chard leaves

  1. 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
  2. Prepare your work area with one tray to roll the chard leaves beside the stuffing and cooking pot
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. Leave around 10cm clear at the top of the pot as the chard leaves will expand when cooked

To make the brine

  1. When you finish stacking the pot, add half a tablespoon each of salt and 7 spice to 1 cup of water to cover
  2. 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
  3. 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.

  4. Taste one chard roll before you turn the heat off to make sure the rice is cooked properly

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

You can add 300g of ground beef or lamb to the filling. Another way to add meat is dice up fillet of beef or lamb, or add lamb chops to the base of the pot.