If you are making a Swiss chard dish and don’t know what to do with the stems, save them for this luscious and ingenious Middle Eastern appetizer. Serve it with warm Arabic bread.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Swiss chard stalks, coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)
- Salt to taste
- 2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste), peeled, green shoots removed
- ½ cup sesame tahini, stirred if the oil has separated
- ¼ to ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Nutritional Information
Nutritional analysis per serving (16 servings)
58 calories; 4 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 69 milligrams sodium
Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.
About two cups
Preparation
- Steam the chard stalks about 15 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain well, and allow to cool. Place in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree, stopping the machine from time to time to scrape down the sides.
- In a mortar, mash the garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt until you have a smooth paste. Add to the chard stalks. Process until smooth. Add the tahini, and again process until smooth. With the machine running, add the lemon juice and salt to taste. Stop the machine, taste and adjust seasonings.
- Transfer the dip to a wide bowl. It will be a little runny (unless the tahini you used was thick) but will stiffen up. Drizzle on the olive oil and serve.
- Advance preparation: This dish will keep for about three days, but the fresher it is, the better. Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.
20 minutes
Dining and Cooking