Vegetarian Swiss chard Rolls (Mehshe Sele’e - Selek)
This recipe requires a lot of steps. It is not the quickest recipe. It is somewhat easy however, but it is absolutely worth it. It is a great comfort food, or for when you’re craving that filling vegetarian recipe that your body needs. It is packed with protein and healthy vegetables. It is a great wellness recipe, or if you are trying to lose weight.
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Large pot
- Small Pot
- 2 large bowls
- Medium or small bowl
- Spoon for mixing
- Mortar and pestle (optional)
- Measuring cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Tongs
- Large fine sieve
- Small ceramic plate
Ingredients
Swiss Chard Rolls
- 2 Large bunches Swiss chard
- 1 cup Long grain rice
- 1 small bunch parsley
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 Large onion diced
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas drained
- 1 tablespoon ground sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon dried mint
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- water or vegetable broth for cooking
- Salt to taste for cooking
- Water for blanching the Swiss chard
- Cold water and ice for an ice bath
Tahini Sauce (taratour)
- Reserved Swiss chard stems
- 1/2 cup and 3 tablespoons tahini
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water which we will use to cook the stems in
- 3 garlic cloves crushed (I like to crush mine using a mortar and pestle)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
Instructions
Swiss Chard Rolls
- Thoroughly wash the swiss chard under cold running water making sure to get into the crevasses as they may have dirt and other undesired bits.
- Cut off any undesired pieces off the swiss chard. What I also like to do is to cut the bottom of the stem curved side down, and pull upwards in order to remove the stringy part of the stem.
- To create an ice bath, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice, and set aside.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the water has reached the boiling point, Drop the swiss chard in and blanch for 1 minute. Using tongs, quickly remove the swiss chard from the boiling water and transfer into the ice bath. You may need to repeat this step if this swiss chards are too large to fit all at once into the boiling water.
- To create the stuffing, begin by aligning the parsley stems together to create a tree shape. You want all the leaves to be aligned on one side, and the stems on the opposite side. Tie using a rubber band or a twisty tie. Fill a large bowl with cold water and dunk the leafy part of the parsley into the cold water several time. Discard the water and repeat this process as necessary until you find no more dirt and unwanted remains in the water. If you are using organic parsley, you may want to fill a large bowl with cold water, put about 1 to 2 tablespoons salt in the water, and drop the leafy part of the parsley in the salty water. Let it sit for 10 minutes, and then continue with the process listed above. Soaking the parsley in salty water will kill off any bugs that may be hiding in between the leaves, and drop them into the water.
- After you have thoroughly rinsed the parsley, set it aside in a dish rack, stems down and leaves up, and let it drain.
- Rinse and drain the rinse under cold water using a fine sieve. Do this about 3 times. Transfer into a large bowl.
- Into the bowl containing the rice, add in the chickpeas, diced tomatoes, diced onions, crushed garlic, dried mint, sumac, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, black pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.
- Once the parsley has completely drained, remove the twisty or rubber band, and hold tight. Using a large sharp knife, chop the stems off as close to the leafy part as possible. Carefully hold the parsley at an angle that will allow you to chop the leaves as fine as possible. Pass the knife over the leaves as you hold it tight on the opposite side and chop.
- Add the finely chopped parsley into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Drain the swiss chard leaves. Cut the long stems off where they meet the leafy part, and reserve the stems for the sauce.
- Place the leaf pointy side away from you and wide end facing you. Place about 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling into the middle of the leaf and spread it to form a log shape leaving about ½ inch to 1 inch of the leaf exposed on each end of the stuffing log. Fold the side that is facing you over the stuffing. Fold the left and right side of the leaf over the stuffing. Firmly, but gently begin to roll the leaf over the stuffing as if you are rolling a tortilla. Beginning from the side that is facing you and rolling in the direction that is away from you. Repeat this step with the remaining swiss chard leaves. If the leaf is too large, you can choose to chop it in half before you begin this process, and if the leaf happens to be small, you’ll want to use less filling.
- Line up the rolled leaves in a large pot, seam side down. Season with salt, and cover with water or vegetable broth with the liquid of your choice being about ½ an inch over the rolls. Cover with a small ceramic plate, and cover the pot. The ceramic plate will stop the leaves from floating over the water, opening up, and losing all their stuffing.
- Place pot on high heat, and bring to a boil. Once it has reached the boiling point, reduce heat to medium low and let it cook for 30 minutes, or as long as the rice of your choice requires to be cooked.
- Meanwhile, we will work on the sauce. This is why the total time is listed as 1 hour and 30 minutes because as the rolls cook, we will be working on our sauce.
Tahini Sauce (Taratour)
- Using a sharp knife, chop the stems into about ½ an inch to ¼ inch pieces. Fill a small pot with water. Drop the chopped stems in. You may season with salt if you choose to. Place on high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and let it cook for 10 minutes.
- Using a sieve, drain the stems into a bowl in order to reserve the water, as we will need it for the next step.
- Into a medium bowl, add in the stems, ½ cup of the reserved cooking water, and the remaining ingredients.
- Once the swiss chard rolls have fully cooked, serve onto a plate using tongs or a fork and a spoon. Whatever is easier, just be gingerly with this as you do not want to ruin all your hard work into a pile of stuffing and chopped leaves. Pour as much as you desire of the prepared sauce over the rolls and enjoy!
Notes
If you would like, you can cook the rolls in chicken broth or add some chicken bouillon to the water right before you cook it. The flavor is delicious when cooked in this way, but it will no longer be vegetarian or vegan.
You can use the same stuffing, same sauce, and the same technique with grape leaves. Except, you may not need to blanch them if they are in a jar. I actually prefer the taste of grape leaves over the Swiss chard. Or, if you have extra stuffing, and an extra jar of grape leaves hanging in your pantry, you could use the extra stuffing to stuff in your grape leaves which is what I usually do.