Stuffed Chard Leaves (vegetarian)

[EmmaD]

Another winner! This time I was looking for a recipe to make chard stuffed with something SB-friendly as well as vegetarian. I found this recipe that I tweaked. I added the topping from this Turkish recipe. So good! But actually... mine didn't look so great, kinda discolored and wilty. So I don't know - I guess I should play around with the cooking method. The Turkish recipe does it on the stovetop, so maybe steaming them that way would be better. Looks aside, they were delicious!!

Stuffed Swiss Chard Leaves

2 cups cooked brown rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped or 2 teaspoons dried dill
1 pint cottage cheese (I used nonfat)
1/2 cup feta, crumbled (could use lowfat; I used regular)
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of Greek oregano
1 Tablespoon soy sauce (Note: the sodium is a bit high in this recipe - I think this could be omitted)
~ 16 large Swiss chard leaves
Topping:
juice of 1 lemon
1 big garlic clove, or 2 small, minced
1 tablespoon dried mint (or 1 teaspoon dried dill - that's what I used)

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Rinse the chard leaves thoroughly – make sure no sand or grit remains. Pat dry.
• Remove any tough stems and set aside while you prepare the filling. You can cut out the tough center rib or not. (I didn't, but some of the larger leaves had a pretty big, hard to roll, rib)
  
• Saute onion and garlic in the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until softening and fragrant.
  
• Take off the heat, season with salt and pepper and add the chopped parsley.
• In a large bowl, add the cooked brown rice, cottage cheese and feta.
• Scrape in the onion/garlic saute.
• Add the egg, oregano and dill.
• Place about two tablespoons of filling on the underside of a chard leaf.
• Fold over the sides, then the bottom and roll up like an envelope. Try to roll as tightly as possible as they will loosen up a bit as the chard cooks.
• Place the roll-ups seam-side down in an oiled 9x13-inch casserole, or other oven-proof, dish.
• Add 1 clove minced garlic and dill/mint to the lemon juice and pour evenly over the rolls.
  
• Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes until tender.

Serve hot or at room temperature

Nutrition Facts from Sparkpeople
4 Servings (1 serving = 4 rolls)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 282.6
Total Fat 6.1 g
Saturated Fat 1.5 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.4 g
Cholesterol 63.1 mg
Sodium 794.9 mg
Potassium 748.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 37.9 g
Dietary Fiber 4.7 g
Sugars 4.4 g
Protein 21.6 g
Vitamin A 121.9 %
Vitamin B-12 12.1 %
Vitamin B-6 19.9 %
Vitamin C 57.7 %
Vitamin D 1.6 %
Vitamin E 12.3 %
Calcium 11.5 %
Copper 14.8 %
Folate 12.4 %
Iron 19.6 %
Magnesium 33.3 %
Manganese 75.1 %
Niacin 10.1 %
Pantothenic Acid 9.1 %
Phosphorus 23.0 %
Riboflavin 16.4 %
Selenium 18.8 %
Thiamin 12.6 %
Zinc 10.6 %

[beerab]

You can also use grape leaves, that's how my mother makes it. She puts it in a pot with a tiny bit of water and boils it till done. Kind of like how tamales are cooked I believe. You can buy the grape leaves pickled but you will probably have to look for a middle eastern store to find them.

Oh and for a real treat put a bit of olive oil on the bottom and toss in veggies (my mom does celery and onions and potatoes) and they'll soak up the juice and it is SOOOO GOOD!

You can also wrap the mixture in onions- take an onion and cut it about halfway then peel off the layers one by one and stuff those. And you can do this with zucchini as well, take out the inner part and then stuff the zucchini halves. She also does it with tomato. You can do it pretty much with any veggies you can think of to stuff. My mom doesn't use soy sauce she does use tomato sauce in the mixture- makes it so good You can also use ground beef or turkey or chicken.

Soo good I'm craving it now lol.

[EmmaD]

My husband requested this again, and I didn't have any Swiss chard, so I'm using beet greens. It really is a versatile recipe. Glad I found it, and thanks for the ideas of other things to stuff! I can't believe it took me so long to start stuffing things

Oh, and I'm not going to use the soy sauce this time either...

[cottagebythesea]

I make stuffed chard leaves, but I make my stuffing with quinoa and diced squash (butternut or pumpkin), Spike seasoning, and an egg to bind it together. I cover the chard rolls with tomato sauce, cover, and bake for 50-60 minutes, then sprinkle them with feta before serving.

I'm eager to try this recipe, too, Emma, as it sounds really good. Thanks so much for sharing it!