Friday, May 7, 2010

Got Giant Chard? Stuff It. An Old Recipe from Laurel's Kitchen


I didn't have time to look at my garden for a time and a half a time and I found the chard not quite "as high as an elephant's eye " but the leaves were rather daunting at close to two feet tall.

Years ago I learned a recipe out of the Laurel's Kitchen recipe book for stuffed chard leaves.  Over the years I improvised based on what was on hand and generally stuffed chard leaves are always good.
The other day, relying on memory, I was sharing the basic idea of the recipe with a friend who was kindly rescuing me from some of these giant leaves.  I could visual the ingredients, I could see a 1/2 cup of green and I was remembering the delightful flavoring of dill weed .  "And 1/2 a cup of chopped dill, "I told her.  She, being a smart woman, didn't believe me.  " It does seem to be a lot," I agreed.  "Maybe it's because I use fresh, " I reasoned.  "Dry is more potent, right? "   My friend told me she would use about a teaspoon... but I could still see that 1/2 cup in my mind of nice chopped green and smell the lovely dill.

When I got home I checked the recipe and tried to telephone her to tell her it is indeed only 1 teaspoon of dill and a 1/2 cup of parsley which I had neglected to mention at all.  Her phone was off the hook and all I got was a busy signal.  After dinner I caught up with her.  Fortunately she had made stuffed chard leaves according to her own lights, using 1 teaspoon of dried dill weed.  They were , she says quite good.  so in case anyone else around here has to help me eat all the chard I have grown, I am showcasing the actual  recipe, unspoiled by my errant memory. 

Just click on this photo to make it bigger.
 The bottom of  page 241 of  the 1976
 Laurel's Kitchen A Handbook for Vegetarian Cookery & Nutrition

I should be embarrassed, I suppose, to let you see this old dirty page, but hey, it isn't as bad as the page that sports oatmeal cookies and  it means I did some cooking and that is always a victory. 
~~~

If you like to read about Kale click here.

2 comments:

GretchenJoanna said...

I should have used this recipe before my chard bolted last month. Now green beans are planted in that spot. But the recipe looks yummy and versatile. I tried a lot of recipes from Laurel's Kitchen but somehow missed this one.

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

Ah, your taking me back here ~ I use to cook out of Laurel's Kitchen. Most of my books are in storage or I'd have to get it out and use it this week.

I have a friend who makes kale chips.

Happy Mother's Day.