I'll be the first one to admit I'm not a huge lover of Swiss chard. I can't put my finger on exactly why it's not my favorite BUT, that being said, when you use it instead of cabbage to make cabbage rolls, it is heavenly. I find it sooo much more tender than cabbage.
I've made it a couple of times not blanching the leaves and a couple of time blanching the leaves and I have to say - it takes a few more minutes but you should definitely blanch the leaves. It makes things even more simple.
I use lean ground beef but you can also make these with ground turkey or ground pork.
Swiss Chard Rolls
Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked basmati rice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
sprinkle cayenne pepper
salt & pepper
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 tsp fresh dill, chopped
20 Swiss chard leaves
1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 10 inch pan with cooking spray. Cover the bottom with 2 or 3 spoonfuls of tomato sauce and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine the beef, rice, garlic, onion, and spices.
Mix well and set aside.
Bring a pot of water to boil. Quickly blanch each Swiss chard leaf in the boiling water for 30 seconds and then place the leaves briefly in ice water to stop the cooking. Pat dry.
When all the leaves have been blanched and patted dry, carefully trim the large, middle vein in each leaf.
To prepare the rolls - Lay a leaf on a flat work surface. Place a generous scoop of the meat mixture (amount will depend on the size of your leaves) at the larger end of the leaf and carefully roll it up, tucking in the sides as you go.
Place the roll, seam side down, in the prepared pan. Repeat until all the leaves and meat have been used up.
I was able to get 15 rolls using medium sized leaves. I had a space left in my pan so I just stuffed some extra Swiss chard leaves in there to fill the space.
Pour the tomato sauce over the rolls.
Lastly, place a few more Swiss chard leaves on top of the sauce. This is optional but I find it helps prevent things from drying out.
Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook for another 15 or so minutes, until everything is bubbling. Remove from heat, remove the top leaves, and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Serve hot.
Not only are these very filling, they are also fairly healthy, and are a complete meal on their own.
How about a close up of all that tastiness?
If you are not serving anything else with these then I would say this makes 3 servings. If you are using these as a side dish then I would say it would be more like 5 servings.
FYI - These also freeze great after being cooked and can just be reheated in the microwave or oven.
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The recipe was good except the rice didn’t cook. It was crunchy and gross. Why do you suggest adding it uncooked? I don’t understand.
ReplyDeleteI've never had trouble with the rice not cooking. The liquid from the tomato sauce and the fat released from the beef cooks the rice. If you are having problems you could definitely cook the rice first, if you prefer.
DeleteI am reading and thinking the same thing ~~ tells me the rice will need cooking~~ however it is not clear in the recipe
DeleteAs we mentioned above, the rice does not need to be cooked beforehand. We have never had problems with the rice not cooking in the liquid from the tomato sauce and fat from the beef. However, you certainly can cook the rice first if you are worried about it not cooking enough.
DeleteThis was delicious! I had leftover hot Italian sausage (raw) that I used for the filling with rice. It made 6 rolls (I had huge Swiss chard leaves but hubby said he’d like two leaves per roll). At the end I added some mozzarella on top and browned it. This will definitely be a recipe I make again! I’m certain the filling as listed in the recipe would be awesome too! I was just trying to use up leftovers.
ReplyDeleteThis recipe is amazing! I have made it countless times. Big favorite in our family! I increase the herbs and spices a bit and cook my rice first. Thank you for the awesome recipe! Oh! Try the some chard stems in with meat. Very tasty
ReplyDeleteCan this be frozen uncooked?
ReplyDeleteVery tasty recipe...the only change I made was I added 1/2 c of water to the meat/rice mix...very nice!
ReplyDeletemy rice didn't cook either. my husband thinks it's because I used cheap Dollar store rice, I think rice is rice. it wasn't crunchy, but definitely not soft and fluffy, we got terrible gastrointestinal issues after eating it anyway, don't do that! I added beef broth to the rolls and put them back in the oven to see if that helped today. I think the beef mix just needs more moisture added to it, it was very dry. I used 85% lean grass fed ground beef, maybe that didn't help either.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever froze the left overs? I love this and thought about making it in advance Ever done this?
ReplyDeleteThis gave me the idea to use up our garden Swiss chard and the pound of beef if the fridge. I plan to stuff the leaves with meatloaf mixture, no rice, use brown gravy in place of the tomato sauce and serve with mashed rutabagas or potatoes.
ReplyDeleteThese are delicious and rice was cooked perfectly! Great alternative to cabbage!
ReplyDeleteI have made these several times now and my rice always cooks.
ReplyDeleteI also freeze leftovers and they do well and taste great when re-heated.
I have lots of Swiss chard in my garden and want to freeze it. Now I’ll make this dish and let you all know how it comes out. I will cook the rice first. BLESSINGS everyone.
ReplyDelete