Stuffed Chard Rolls

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These Stuffed Chard Rolls are hearty and comforting. Filled with a sticky rice, herb, and ground walnut filling, and simmered with crushed tomatoes and extra vrigin olive oil.

Prep Time45

Cook Time1

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean

Keyword: dolma, rice

Servings: -24 rolls

Calories: 117kcal

Ingredients

20-24 large chard leaves stems removed, (save the smaller leaves to lay in the bottom of the pot)
170 grams (1 medium-large) onion minced
2 large garlic cloves minced
3 small Spring onions minced
190 grams (1 cup) short-grain white rice rinsed
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
70 grams (⅓ cup) finely ground walnuts
2-3 tablespoons fresh dill minced or 1 tablespoon minced spearmint
2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
180 grams (¾ cup) canned crushed tomatoes or 1½ cup fresh, extra ripe summer tomatoes grated
125 ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil + an extra splash for sauteing and to serve with
500 ml (2 cups) hot water or vegetable stock
kosher salt
Optional: fresh lemon to serve with

Instructions

Prepare The Leaves:

Blanch the leaves. Fill a large cooking pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the leaves (4-5 at a time) and cook them for 1-2 minutes, depending on their size. They should soften, but not too much; they need to hold their shape so you can roll them afterwards. Transfer the chard leaves to a large bowl with ice-cold water to cool. Then lay them as flat as possible in a strainer.
NOTE: Cook the large leaves separately from the smaller leaves so you don't overcook the latter.

Prepare The Filling:

Heat a splash of olive oil in a non-stick pan.
Sauté the onion over moderate heat for a couple of minutes, with a sprinkle of salt, until soft and translucent.
Add the spring onions and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes more.
Add the rice, cook and stir for 2 minutes.
Stir in the paprika and pour in 2 cups of hot water (if using stock, add it to the sauce in step 17). Season with kosher salt and ground pepper.
Simmer over low heat until the rice absorbs all of the water.
Stir in the fresh herbs and ground walnuts.

Assemble:

Lay a chard leaf flat on a cutting board or working surface. The smooth side of the leaf should be facing down.
Cut and remove the toughest part of the stem at the base of the leaf. Then bring the two ends of the leaf together, covering the gap you just created.
Add a spoonful of the filling to the bottom of the leaf right at the center.
Roll. Overlap the bottom end over the filling and fold both sides on top (envelope-like), then roll upwards until you reach the top end of the leaf. Roll tightly but without squeezing it too much. Repeat the process for the remaining leaves. If a leaf is too large, you may cut it in half to create two rolls.
Prepare the cooking pot. Lay the smaller, uncooked chard leaves at the bottom of a medium-sized cooking pot (not a narrow pot).
Place the chard rolls in the pot tightly close together so they won't unroll while they cook.
Pour in the crushed tomatoes (or fresh, grated tomatoes) and the olive oil.
Place a plate on top of the rolls to hold them down while they cook.
Pour in 2 cups of hot water (or vegetable stock).
Simmer over medium-low heat, partly covered, for about 40 minutes. The plate pressing down the chard rolls will make the sauce look like more than it is. So keep that in mind. We want the rolls to absorb the water, leaving mostly oil in the pot. To check on this, you can take the pot off the heat for a minute and remove the plate carefully to see how much sauce is actually left in the pot.
Let the rolls sit in the cooking pot for 10-15 minutes off the heat.
Serve with fresh lemon squeezed on top and an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if you like!

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Nutrition