This simple dish is a great choice for a midweek springtime dinner or an accompaniment to a summer picnic – it’s also a good way of using up some veggies you may have hanging around in the fridge; I added cubed fennel pieces when I was frying up the carrots and some asparagus (also in season at the moment) just before adding the chard. Why not serve it with brown basmati rice which has more fiber, phosphorus, zinc, and B vitamins than white rice? It is also lower on the glycemic index which means you will feel fuller for longer.
(Serves 4 as a side dish or 2-3 as a main course)
Ingredients
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into 2cm pieces
1 tsp fennel or caraway seeds
300g chard
440g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1.5 tsp ground cumin
Salt and black pepper
1 lemon – juice half to get 1 tbsp and cut the other half into 2 wedges to serve
1/4 cup coriander, roughly chopped or if you don’t have coriander, substitute other herbs such as parsley or mint
Method
- Separate the chard stalks from the leaves. Blanch the stalks in plenty of boiling salted water for 3 minutes. Add the leaves and continue cooking for 2 minutes, then drain everything. Refresh under cold running water and squeeze dry, then chop roughly
- Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan, add the carrots and fennel or caraway seeds and saute for 10 minutes
- Add the chard and chickpeas, saute for six minutes, then stir in the garlic, lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper, remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little
- Adjust the seasoning to taste
- Serve at room temperature with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some freshly ground black pepper
