Meatballs with Swiss Chard

Sarah Melamed of Foodbridge put this recipe on her blog on January 25th, and I’ve cooked it twice since then. Even the Little One, who’s suspicious of vegetables, loved it. But – you know how it is – I adapted it somewhat. I made a double batch using dried herbs and white wine. Sarah’s recipe is the pure goods. My version is this variation.

Meatballs with Swiss Chard

Ingredients:

1 bunch of swiss chard, washed

500 grams – 1 lb. ground turkey or beef

1 onion, grated

1 egg

2 tablespoons bread crumbs

1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried, crushed herbs: sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme – alone or  in any combination.

Juice of 1 lemon (I used 1/2 preserved lemon instead)

3 cloves garlic

1 cup water or chicken stock

1 cup white wine

1 tsp. cornstarch

1 small bunch scallions

Method:

1. Cut away the hard white stem of the Swiss chard leaves. Reserve them.

2. Put the green leaves in a large pan without any added water. Cook, covered, over low heat till they wilt.

3. Allow the greens to cool and chop them finely.

4. Into a bowl, put the meat, egg, onion, chopped Swiss chard, bread crumbs and spices.

5. Mix, then knead till you have a firm, well-blended mix.

6. Prepare a skillet with a little oil on the bottom. Fry the meatballs for 5 minutes on each side, just enough to make them hold together and to give them  a good brown color. Remove the meatballs to a plate and set aside.

7. Dissolve the cornstarch in a little water. To the still-hot frying pan, add 1 cup white wine and stir, loosening up any bits of meat. Add the dissolved cornstarch and stir, 1 minute.

8. Cut the white part of the beet stems into finger-sized pieces.

9. In a large pan, fry the garlic in olive oil  for 2 minutes and add the lemon juice. Add the meatballs, white wine/cornstarch mixture, and beet stems. Add the 1 cup water or stock, and more if needed to cover the meatballs.

10. Cook, covered, 20 minutes or until the meatballs are done.

11. Uncover the pot and cook the liquid down to thicken it.

12. Chop the scallions and scatter them over the meatballs just before bringing them to the table.

Really good.

Another note: To accompany this, I made white rice that had 1 peeled, chopped tomato, 1 bay leaf, and 2 cloves of crushed garlic in it.