Recipe: Emmalyn's Lentil-Stuffed Chard Rolls
These are a great main dish for vegetarians, vegans and carnivores alike. Stuffing and steaming chard leaves can create many flavor combos, like building the perfect burrito. Spiced lentils is one of my favorite stuffings, but herbed rice or ground beef can work well too.
Ingredients:
1 cup lentils
3 cups broth or water
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch Rainbow Chard
1 onion, minced
3 carrots, minced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. cumin
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. pepper
Salt to taste
Process:
Cook lentils in broth or water. Set aside to cool.
While lentils are cooking, prep veggies. Mince onion, carrot and garlic.
Wash and prep Rainbow Chard. Cut stems off at the base and set aside. Taking each leaf, observe if the stem is thick as it continues into the leaf. If it is too thick, this will make rolling your leaves more challenging. You can make a small triangular cut to remove the thicker stem. Mince chard stems.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. ‘Sweat’ onions. Add spices and cook for 3 minutes more.
Add carrot and chard stems and cook until just soft.
Once mixture is cooled, add it to your cooked lentils.
Take chard leaves and lay flat. Add about ¼ cup lentils to each leaf. The amount will vary based on the size of the leaf.
Starting at either side, fold edges in, then roll over and pin edge with a toothpick if necessary.
Steam rolls in a veggie steamer or about 1 inch of water in the bottom of a pan with a lid. Cook for about 5-8 minutes or until leaves are tender.