Stuffed Swiss Chard (Silik Mehchi BelZeit)

In previous posts I used the Swiss Chard to make the soup with lentils, and Mutabbal made out of Swiss chard stalk. But today I prepared the traditional stuffed Swiss chard, which is an alternative to stuffed vine leaves. It  is a vegetarian recipe cooked with extra virgin olive oil. I remember when I was young I used to say to myself that the stuffing looks like tabboule with chick peas, but made with rice instead of bulgur.  🙂

Recipe by ninabaidoon, Tabkhet el yom

Ingredients:

2 kilos of Swiss chard
2 cups Egyptian rice
1 cup of chick peas, soaked overnight
1/2 cup chopped parsley
3 tomatoes finely diced
2 medium onions finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon seven spices
juice of 2 lemons
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

1. Remove the Stalk of  the Swiss chard, wash and drain
2. Boil about 3 liters of water in a pot, add some salt
3. Blanch a few leaves of Swiss chard at a time in the boiling water for about a minute, remove and place in cold water directly (boiling of the Swiss chard is delicate, you should be careful)

4. Prepare the stuffing by mixing the washed rice with parsley, chick peas, tomatoes, onions, season with salt, seven spices, add half of lemon juice and one tablespoon of olive oil

5. On a working board, place one leaf of the boiled Swiss chard, place in the center 1 teaspoon of the stuffing and roll it
6. When you finish all the leaves, prepare a pot to cook them
7. Pour 2 tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of the pot, then thinly slice one onion, one tomato and one potato and place them in the bottom of the pot. Place the stuffed Swiss chard in layers over the slices of the potato, onion and tomato
8. When you finish piling them cover with water by about 1/2 inch, add salt, the remaining lemon juice, then place an upside down plate to hold them down during cooking
9. Put the pot on fire and let it boil, reduce then the fire, cover the pot and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender

10. Allow to cool, then carefully turn the pot upside down on a serving plate.