A lovely friend of ours gave us two large bunches of swiss chard from her garden (THANK YOU Nataleigh-the amazing chef behind Gumbo Galley) and I jumped at the chance to create something yummy. The inspiration came from an Ottolenghi recipe “Chickpea Saute with Greek Yoghurt,” but of course I had a few other things I wanted to use up in the fridge and so this is what I came up with…
Chickpea sauté with Swiss Chard and Celery
Serves 3-4 as a main course
- 2 large bunches of swiss chard (about 300 grams or 8 cups)
- 2 tbs olive oil plus extra to finish
- 3-4 medium carrots
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 small onion
- 1 cup chickpeas (or one can, drained)
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp sumac
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped mint
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- salt and pepper
- Greek or coconut yoghurt to serve
- 1. Separate the chard stalks from the leaves and chop into 3/4″ pieces. Chop the leaves separately. Blanch the stalks in boiling water for 3 minutes, add the leaves and cook for another 2 minutes. Drain everything, refresh under cold water, and squeeze to dry.
- In a large frying pan, heat up 2 tbs olive oil on medium heat. Add the peeled and diced carrots and caraway seeds and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the diced celery stalks, chopped onion and chickpeas. Cook for about 4-5 more minutes.
- Add cumin, sumac, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and blanched chard stalks and leaves. Mix in and let sauté for another minute or two.
- Remove from heat, mix in a tablespoon or two more olive oil, add the mint and cilantro and let cool a bit. Taste and adjust seasoning as you prefer. Separate into serving dishes, add a dollop of yoghurt on top of each sauté (and maybe a bit more mint/cilantro) and serve.