curried swiss chards, served with potato patties, and the ninja who wears Prada

Hello, dear neighbors ! Do you ever ever eat chards? If like us you can’t drowse them in a cheese sauce in the hope of hiding their blandness, you have to learn to use spices and / or herbs to make them a little more palatable. Last year, I came up with an Asia-inspired peanut sauce recipe (here), but today I am using curry powder to give my chards a little pazazz ! Served with potato patties, this meatless dish is quite filling.

Ingredients (serves two) 

for the chards :

– around 800g swiss chards, preferably organic and locally grown

– 1 TBSP olive oil

– 1 tsp curry powder of your choice (ours is organic and a Colombo curry blend)

– ¼ tsp unrefined sea salt, without any additives

– 1 or 2 TBSP cashew butter

for the patties:

– 250g to 300g potatoes, even the tired kind you inevitably get at this time of year…

– 1 egg, whole

– ¼ tsp unrefined sea salt, without any additives

– some gluten-free bread crumbs (possible substitutes : almond meal or flaxseed, or a mix)

– some olive oil to shape and cook the patties

– some tamari ( = soy sauce with no wheat), optional

How to:

1. Peel, cut and boil or steam potatoes (keep in mind that highly chlorinated water is not very good for the gut flora ; this is why we often use bottled water, not a happy choice, but what can you do…)

2. Meanwhile, remove the green leaves from the chards, setting aside about 50g of them. Cut the white stems into small chunks.

fresh from the organic farm!

3. Heat the TBSP olive oil in a saucepan and add the stems along with the tsp curry and ¼ tsp salt. Cook, stirring, until chards become translucent, then cover and cook on low another ten minutes or so. Even though the chards will render some liquid and should not stick to the pan, it is wise to keep an eye on them and stir once or twice more during that time.

The chards have lost their white color, they are now translucent, it is time to put the lid on and lower the heat.

4. Mash cooked potatoes with a potato masher (and then with an immersion blender if desired), add beaten egg, salt, and finely chopped saved greens.

5. Shape four patties with oiled hands and coat with bread crumbs.

6. Cook patties in oiled frying pan on medium heat several minutes on each side, while the chards are warmed up with 2 TBSP cashew butter, which will make the cooking juices creamier and milder.

Serve the chards and patties with a little tamari sauce if desired.

Usually the tamari sauce goes over the potato patties.

Even though we had some very warm and sunny days a short while back, winter is not yet over in our region, especially at night with below freezing temperatures. This year I took pity on the birds outside and fed them sunflower seeds. It is a lot of fun to watch !

We have spotted about seven different species that come to help themselves on our patio. Among my favorites there is a small goldfinch wearing Prada – so pretty with its red, black and white head, and a yellow streak on its wings.

source:

http://www.linternaute.com/nature-animaux/oiseaux/dossier/oiseaux-familiers/1.shtml

But watch out ! In spite of its smallness, it has quite an appetite and becomes very aggressive when it comes to defending its territory ! It literally jumps, ninja style, its beak forward, at whatever tries to get close to what it has decided are HIS seeds ! This keeps on until it feels satiated. I’m telling you, it would bare its teeth if it had any!

In a very different style, we also have a pigeon, one very plump pigeon, almost the size of a battery cage chicken. Now this one is definitely relaxed and care-free about coming up to the feed, like all its fellow pigeons in the neighborhood : ever since the « Poopsie episode »* we had shortly after we moved here, they all know for certain they have nothing to fear from us.

Nature is an on-going show, without a screen – a great way to disconnect, dear neighbors!

*a story I will be happy to tell in a future post!

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