Chard Bundles with Chicken and Pomegranate Molasses
Chard bundles with chicken and pomegranate molasses hereby join the enormous culinary family known as stuffed vegetables. Anyone inclined to create a family tree of stuffed veg would be well advised to park chard bundles on the cabbage side, near the second cousins.
You think I sound nuts? Have you read the news today? I am a shining beacon of sanity.
Returning to the topic at hand.
Unlike its friend (and second cousin), cabbage, chard is a more easygoing proposition, needing neither blanching nor long cooking to soften any aggressive edges.
Chard does require a good soak, as grit adds little to the dining experience.
Once your leaves are clean and reasonably dry, remove stalks and thick ribs for use in another dish.
The chard stems were not that attractive. Here is an apple.
Moving on to the stuffing.
Chard leaves may be stuffed with ground beef, pork, chicken, or firm tofu. Long grain or Basmati rice may replace some or all of the meat. The recipe’s success depends less on the protein used than the seasoning, which must be generous. This doesn’t mean spicy. Rather, it means liberal. Hold back, and you will be facing a plate of stodge. I speak from experience.
The stodge.
Pomegranate molasses is an intense sweet-sour condiment with a lush texture. It’s wonderful with lamb, barley, and chicken dishes. Markets generally stock it with other types of molasses or with Middle Eastern foods.
If pomegranate molasses proves hard to find or you don’t want to use it, fear not. Chard bundles with chicken will work without it. I am not in the business of impossible recipes. Life is hard enough without them.
The same applies to the ground pomegranate seasoning and Chaat Masala. Both are available at Indian groceries or online. Mine come from Kalyustan’s, who have no idea I’m mentioning them.
Ground pomegranate is at the very top of the shot. Chaat Masala is the light brown powder, bottom right.
A word about wrapping the chicken. A single bunch of chard contains leaves ranging from teensy to big enough to cover a couch. Lacking a couch (no room), I set to work halving the largest leaves, removing the stems and ribs as I went along.
Photobomb by dishtowel. What a shot.
Anyone whose eaten a stuffed cabbage dish has encounted the stuffing/leaf ratio problem: i.e., too much cabbage, too little stuffing. I avoided this fate by adjusting the amount of filling according to leaf size.
Raw chicken. Always a thing of beauty.
The Sauce
The sauce is simple: a can of whole tomatoes in juice, joined by carrot, shallot, garlic, and a little more pomegranate molasses. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice pulls everything together.
Chard bundles with Chicken and Pomegranate Molasses benefits from an overnight rest before eating. Any leftovers improve with time.
We eat this dish with good bread, but a green salad wouldn’t go amiss.
Chard Bundles with Chicken and Pomegranate Molasses
Serves 2-3; easily scaled upward
Prep time: About 25 minutes. This recipe reads longer than it takes to prepare.
As always, please read the notes, below, before cooking. You will need a baking dish large enough to hold the chard rolls in a single layer. A lid is helpful. Lacking one, use tinfoil.
butter, for the baking pan
1 bunch chard; mine was 8.5 oz/25 grams, untrimmed weight
for the stuffing:
1 pound/454 grams ground chicken, beef, pork, or firm tofu
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed
2 green cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon ground pomegranate seed (the seasoning, not the fruit)
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon Chaat Masala
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 generous teaspoon pomegranate molasses
Optional addtions:
Approximately 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped or pulverized with a mortar and pestle
1 large garlic clove, crushed
For the sauce:
One 14.5 ounce/411 gram can whole peeled tomatoes in juice
or
equivalent amount of liquid in low-salt vegetable or chicken broth
1 small onion or shallot, peeled and chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and sliced into coins
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1-2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
2 teaspoons salt
pepper
a good squeeze fresh lemon juice
Optional: a splash brandy
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C
Lightly butter a baking pan measuring roughly 11×7 inches/27 cmx17cm (a little bigger or smaller is fine)
Prepare the chard:
Soak the chard in a bowl of cold water, ensuring any dirt or debris is removed. Dry in salad spinner or towel. The chard can be damp. Just make sure it’s not sopping wet.
Remove chard stems. Halve large chard leaves, removing larger ribs. Set stems and ribs aside for another dish.
Set leaves aside while you prepare the stuffing.
Put the ground chicken in a bowl.
Using a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder, grind the coriander, cardamom, and fennel seed.
Add to the ground chicken.
Add the remaining spices to the chicken, along with the pomegranate molasses.
If you are using the fresh herbs and garlic, either chop finely or pound in mortar and pestle, then add to bowl.
Combine contents of chicken bowl lightly, either using your very clean hands or a large spoon.
Wrap the chicken in chard leaves:
Spread a leaf on a work surface, shiny side down. Spoon or use clean hands place 1-2 tablespoons stuffing on the lower portion of the leaf. Give larger leaves more stuffing, smaller leaves less. Roll gently from bottom up, folding in sides if you wish, or leaving them open. Tuck rolls into baking dish. Continue until stuffing is used up. You will likely have leftover chard. See notes, below for ways to use it.
Make the sauce:
Pour the tomato sauce over the chard bundles, distributing it evenly around the pan. Crush the tomatoes with a fork or your clean hands. Do this gently, so tomato sauce doesn’t spray everywhere.
Add the carrot, shallot, and garlic to the pan. Add the pomegranate molasses. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover pan with tinfoil or lid.
Bake for about one hour, turning heat down to 325F/160C after 30 minutes. Check liquid level; the dish should be fine, but if it looks dry, add a little water.
Chard bundles with chicken and pomegranate molasses are cooked through when a tester in a roll comes out clean. Chicken should be brownish and have no pink juices. Chard will be tender and pliable, like cooked spinach. Taste sauce for salt–it will need some–and squeeze lemon over all.
Serve Chard bundles with Chicken and Pomegranate Molasses with bread and green salad.
Chard bundles with Chicken and Pomegranate Molasses will keep, covered and refrigerated, up to four days. Freeze in a covered container up to three months.
Chard with chicken and pomegranate molasses may be prepared and frozen, uncooked, well-wrapped, in a freezer-safe pan. Bake from frozen, allowing extra cooking time. Be sure to label the dish.
Notes:
If you are feeding more than two people, I suggest increasing the amount of chicken and seasoning. One pound/454 g fed two without leftovers.
Any greens may be used here, provided they are fresh and don’t have too many holes. Cabbage, mustard greens, or any of the Chinese greens would work in this recipe. Kale might be too tough, both to roll and to eat.
Chard stems and ribs may be refrigerated up to one week or frozen up to three months. Use in soups or for broth making. Toss in stir-fries, soups, or rice.
Chard leaves may be sauteed with lemon, olive oil, and garlic. Or stir-fry with peanut oil and either soy or oyster sauce. Use in soup with sausage, or slow cook with a ham hock.
If you don’t want to use pomegranate molasses, try steak sauce or Worcestshire sauce.
Ground veal is delicious in stuffed leaf recipes. If you have access to ethically sourced veal and feel comfortable purchasing it, by all means try it here. Eugenia Bone gives a terrific recipe for stuffed cabbage using ground veal in The Kitchen Ecosystem. You will want to change to flavor profile a bit: use rosemary (fresh or dried), oregano, dried basil (be sure it’s fresh), perhaps a little mint, and parsley. Add a few teaspoons of tomato paste to the sauce with a glug of dry red wine.
Ground lamb is another option. Try a seasoning profile including ground coriander, ground cumin, sumac, a smidge of cinnamon, a tiny bit of ground ginger, salt, pepper, parsley, and cilantro. Mince preserved lemon and add to the sauce, which could be dry white wine.
