It seems like chard just wants to be a regular part of my life. It is all over the Farmers Market, and manages to find its way into the occasional box of Farm Fresh to You that comes to my house. I have been getting nice, big leaves in bunches, which makes me want to do one thing– see what I can roll those big leaves around. Here is a straightforward idea for stuffed chard that doesn’t require anything more than your basic staple vegetables and some tomato sauce. And the cooking time shouldn’t be too long either.
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stuffed chard with fennel & spring onions
1 bunch large, intact swiss chard leaves (about 8 leaves)
2 cups cooked brown rice (short grain or sprouted is best for
stickiness)
1 small fennel bulb, cleaned and chopped
2
carrots, chopped
1 young, red spring onion, chopped
1
tsp. crushed fennel seeds
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2
tsp. ground cumin
1 tbsp. healthy cooking oil
1 cup
cannellini beans or garbanzo beans
3 tbsp. hazelnut
flour or almond flour
1/4 cup fresh parsley,
chopped
4 tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional for more flavor)
Sea salt & pepper to taste
1 14.5-oz. can or 1 3/4
cup homemade tomato sauce, marinara sauce, or fresh tomato puree
Plain vegan yogurt for drizzle (or dairy for non-vegan)
(see
note below regarding improvising with filling ingredients)
Preheat oven to 375°. Remove the stem from the end of each chard leaf by cutting them off with a knife. Using a stove top steamer or a little water in a sauce pan, steam the chard leaves just until they soften, but don’t cook too much. You want them to be firm enough yet flexible enough to roll around the filling.
For the filling, heat the oil in a sauté pan and toast the fennel seeds for just a minute. Add the fennel, carrot, and garlic, and cook until the fennel becomes tender, add the spring onion and cumin and cook a couple minutes more. Stir in the rice, beans, nut flour, parsley. Add nutritional yeast, salt & pepper to taste. The filling should stick together and have a rich, fresh herb and fennel taste.
Place all of your tomato sauce in the bottom of a lasagna pan or other oven-proof baking dish. Take a chard leaf and flatten it on the counter. Using an ice cream scoop or a measuring cup, measure out 1/4 cup of filling into one end of the chard leaf. Gather the ends of the chard over the filling, and roll the filling up into the chard roll lengthwise. Place the roll seam side down in the pan of tomato sauce. Repeat until all the chard is rolled. You should have just enough filling for a bunch of chard. If you have leftover filling it makes great burritos or a starchy side for the next meal.
Cover your pan of chard rolls with foil. Bake in the oven for
about 30 minutes or until it is completely warmed through and sauce starts to
simmer a little. Serve immediately drizzled with plain or vegan yogurt for
garnish.
NOTE: You can add other veggies from your fridge or
substitute fennel with things like celery, parsnips, red peppers, fresh
tomatoes, etc. This recipe is fairly flavor neutral and therefore
flexible.
stuffed chard with fennel & spring onions
Ingredients
- 1 bunch large, intact swiss chard leaves (about 8 leaves)
- 2 cups cooked brown rice short grain or sprouted is best for stickiness
- 1 small fennel bulb cleaned and chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 1 young red spring onion chopped
- 1 tsp. crushed fennel seeds
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tbsp. healthy cooking oil
- 1 cup cannellini beans or garbanzo beans
- 3 tbsp. hazelnut flour or almond flour
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 4 tbsp. nutritional yeast optional for more flavor
- Sea salt & pepper to taste
- 1 can 14.5 oz. can tomato or marinara sauce or 1 3/4 cup of homemade tomato sauce, marinara sauce, or fresh tomato puree
- Plain vegan yogurt for drizzle or dairy for non-vegan, see note below regarding improvising with filling ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Remove the stem from the end of each chard leaf by cutting them off with a knife.
- Using a stove top steamer or a little water in a sauce pan, steam the chard leaves just until they soften, but don't cook too much. You want them to be firm enough yet flexible enough to roll around the filling.
- For the filling, heat the oil in a sauté pan and toast the fennel seeds for just a minute. Add the fennel, carrot, and garlic, and cook until the fennel becomes tender, add the spring onion and cumin and cook a couple minutes more.
- Stir in the rice, beans, nut flour, parsley. Add nutritional yeast, salt & pepper to taste. The filling should stick together and have a rich, fresh herb and fennel taste.
- Place all of your tomato sauce in the bottom of a lasagna pan or other oven-proof baking dish. Take a chard leaf and flatten it on the counter. Using an ice cream scoop or a measuring cup, measure out 1/4 cup of filling into one end of the chard leaf.
- Gather the ends of the chard over the filling, and roll the filling up into the chard roll lengthwise. Place the roll seam side down in the pan of tomato sauce. Repeat until all the chard is rolled. You should have just enough filling for a bunch of chard. If you have leftover filling it makes great burritos or a starchy side for the next meal.
- Cover your pan of chard rolls with foil. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until it is completely warmed through and sauce starts to simmer a little.
- Serve immediately drizzled with plain or vegan yogurt for garnish.