Meatless Monday: Swiss Chard with Tahini Yogurt Sauce and Buttered Pine Nuts

     This side dish is perfect and perfectly satisfying.  It is fabulous served with a bowl of rice on the side, or with some toasted costini. This is yet another recipe I tried from Jerusalem: A Cookbook.  I am so in love with this book.  The recipes at times are written as a story, the pictures are divine making you want to try each one, and once a recipe is tried the success of each one make you want to tackle another one and another one.  Tackle it, the sooner the better.  This is a quick and easy side and it is great if you just happened to have swiss chard growing in your garden as we do.  We planted a few different varieties.  One has pale green stalks with large leafy dark green leaves, the other has a combo of bright almost fuchsia colored stalks and deep yellow stalks. Threads of both colors, fuchsia and deep yellow, almost glowing up the leaves.  It looks delicious and tastes just as good.  Especially so with a perfect sauce to accompany it made with greek yogurt, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.  It is perfect.  Enjoy this dish, it makes an elegant side.  Try with Mejadra for a complete meatless monday meal.





Swiss Chard with Tahini Yogurt Sauce and Buttered Pine Nuts

Recipe adapted from Jerusalem: A Cookbook
Ingredients
Directions
  1. Mix tahini, yogurt, lemon juice, water, 3 tbsp of olive oil, and 1 garlic clove crushed. Set aside.
  2. Prepare swiss chard separating stalks from leaves with sharp knife. Chop stalks and leaves. Wash, dry and set aside.
  3. Place 1 tbsp butter and remaining olive oil in 12 inch skillet over medium high heat.
  4. Once hot, add pine nuts and toast them until golden. Remove with slotted spoon.
  5. Place garlic and shallot in remaining butter oil mixture in pan and sauté until fragrant. Add wine to pan then add chopped swiss chard stalks and sauté for 3 minutes.
  6. Add chopped swiss chard leaves to skillet, the remaining 1 tbsp butter. Cook until leaves softened and completely warmed about 3-5 minutes.
  7. Divide among bowls with dollop of tahini yogurt sauce over top and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.
  8. Serve with additional olive oil and smoked sweet paprika if desired.







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