Winning ways with chard

We eat seasonally and often from the garden.  It's not large but there are only two of us and it can feed us well.  You know how you look forward to the first crop and sometimes enthusiasm wanes at the end.  We've been enjoying chard over winter picking a few leaves to make a delicious chard meal each week, sometimes twice a week. And then it turns on you.  Suddenly you have the Karori chard monster growing so fast and tall and threatening to go to seed.  Meanwhile you are trying to consume the kale and cavalo nero before that too bolts and you know you really have to eat the last of the broccoli this week. I knew things were serious when I mentioned to Peter that a friend who kindly took some chard off my hands this week said how much she had enjoyed her three chard meals.  Peter's response - "well that's three chard meals we don't have to eat".  If you have your own chard dilemma I have a few suggestions.
Chard works really well with grains such as barley, farro or freekeh.  For a great pilaf, saute a finely diced red onion in olive oil.  Add 2 tbsp coarsely chopped pistachios, grated zest of a lemon and a cup hot chicken stock - you may need different quantities of liquid depending on which grain you use so top it up with hot water if it is drying out. Mix and cover with a lid.  Simmer gently for around 20-30 minutes until the water has evaporated and the grains are cooked.  Season and stir through about 250g roughly chopped chard.  When the chard has wilted, add about 150g crumbled feta and stir through a little olive oil and the juice from the lemon.  You can serve on its own for a light weeknight supper or with lamb.  Use fillets, backstraps or rump.  Rub the lamb with a mix of ground cumin, cardamom and coriander and then briefly sear the lamb in a hot pan and finish in a hot oven.  Slice the lamb and serve on the pilaf topped with mint leaves and a sprinkling of sumac.
I made a great a great Iranian style stew with yellow split peas.  Saute an onion until soft then add 2 cloves crushed garlic with a cinnamon stick, a tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp fenugreek and a pinch of saffron strands.  Add 100g yellow split peas and 500g chicken or vegetable stock and cook until the peas are nearly done.  Add more hot stock or water if they are sticking.  Add 100g brown basmati rice and cook a further 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.  Add more liquid if necessary.  Stir through 250g roughly chopped chard and let wilt a little.  Finish with 2 sliced spring onions, 1tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses.  Scatter with chopped mint leaves and pomegranate seeds to serve.
Try a chard gratin served with a crisp green salad. Heat a crushed garlic clove gently in a frying pan then stir in a tsp each of chopped rosemary and thyme and 250g roughly chopped chard. Season and stir over a medium heat for a couple of minutes.  In a large bowl beat together two eggs, 1/4 cup milk and salt and pepper. Stir in chard mixture and about 50g Gruyère. Stir in a cup of sweetcorn and mix well. I usually use frozen corn out of season but you could just as easily use canned if you prefer.  Pour into a greased baking dish, sprinkle parmesan on top and drizzle over a little olive oil.  Bake at 180 for 35-40 mins until nicely browned.  Rest 10 minutes before serving.
We had chard with chickpeas and tamarind. Saute a sliced onion with 1 tsp each of ground coriander and 2 tsp caraway seeds.  Add a tsp tomato paste, a can of chopped tomatoes, 300mls chicken stock, a can of chickpeas, 4 tbsp tamarind paste and 400g roughly chopped chard with stalks. Season and bring to the boil then cover and simmer 30 minutes.  When done it will be a thick soupy consistency.  Finish with a little lemon juice and serve with rice and a dollop of yoghurt and a drizzle of olive oil.
Don't forget our old favourite, Floriditas' chard risotto, which has had a few outings.
Our final chard meal of this crop was the pilaf with lamb.  Now we move on to the broccoli, starting with a broccoli and blue cheese salad.


 

Birthday pork

The birthday season is upon us, although this year I only have two birthdays to cater and someone has to do one for me. It's an opportunity to do something special and with usually only Peter and me at home an opportunity to cook something we can't easily do for two. Isabel chose pulled pork - good choice. 
This is pretty simple.  Combine a tsp each of smoked paprika, English mustard powder and 1/2 tsp ground cloves with salt and pepper and rub into the flesh side of a piece of skin-on pork shoulder. We added a bit of Culley's hickory sauce for extra flavour. Our piece was around 2 kg. Rub olive oil and salt into the skin.  Pour 1/2 cm water into a roasting tin and add the pork skin side up.  Roast at 140 for about 6 hours or until the meat is perfectly tender.  Add a little more water if necessary.  When it is done turn the grill to it's highest setting and grill the pork until the skin is crackled and golden - it doesn't take long so don't let it catch.
I made an apple and broad bean salsa to serve.  Our broad beans are a few weeks away so I had to resort to frozen.  Combine 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 2 tbsp each orange and lemon juice, 1/2 tsp each dried oregano and cumin, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, salt and pepper in a jar and give it a good shake. Pour into a serving dish.  Add 2 cups blanched and peeled broad beans, 1 julienned Granny Smith apple, 1 tbsp chopped capers, 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Gently combine.
We also had crispy roasted potatoes.  I sprinkled the par-boiled potatoes with a little polenta before roasting which crisped up the skin.
We also had leeks and cavalo nero because all meals right now MUST include chard or cavalo nero before these go completely to seed. Slice a couple of leeks and cook in olive oil and a little butter with salt until soft and sweet.  Take the tough stalks out of the cavalo nero and roughly chop then add to the pan, cover and cook a few minutes until the greens are wilted.  Season and add another small knob of butter.  Lost of recipes tell you to cook the greens in water then press out all the water with a tea towel and then chop the greens before adding to the pan.  I don't usually bother - it seems like far too much work and stains the tea towels green. My way seems to work fine.
We had the summer Pimms cake for pudding and once again this cake was the star of the show.  This cake is super easy and a bit of a show stopper. These were our first strawberries of the season - not home grown I'm afraid although ours will be ready shortly if we ever get any sun. The borage isn't flowering either so I used cornflowers for the blue.
What better way to use up pulled pork than Monday night tortillas?  To make flour tortillas gently mix 1 1/2 cups plain flour in a bowl with 1 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt.  Warm 1/2 cup milk in a small saucepan and pour into the dry ingredients.  Mix with your hands into a soft dough and rest in cling film 15 mins.   Then divide into 6 balls, roll out on a floured surface as thinly as you can and layer them between sheets of greaseproof paper with a light dusting of flour as you go. Cook them on a hot grill or cast iron pan - 40 seconds on the first side and 10 on the second.  Heat the pork in a pan with a little water and some smoky tomato sauce you have in the fridge.  Pile the pork on the tortillas and top with left over apple salsa.