This is a simple fusion dish where chard/mangold is mixed with Ethiopian berbere spice mix, garlic and onion, then fried. I really enjoyed lentils with berbere spice, so I thought I’d see how it goes with vegetables. I used oil rather than butter and instead of using two bunches of chard, I added the leaves to the stems near the end of the cooking.
I didn’t completely follow the recipe, because I mixed the greens (kale and chard/mangold) in with the leeks, and I didn’t take the pie out to brown on the outside (it was stuck to the pan). I also didn’t make the gravy. Overall it was okay, but not worth the effort.
I think that this dish would have benefited from having the orange peel cut into smaller pieces so that some would be included with each bite, because the dish was balanced in the bites which included orange, but less nice in the bites which didn’t have it. I ended up also adding water to prevent it from burning.
Since the author of the recipe had already taken liberties with the ingredients to make a fusion dish, I decided to replace the kale in the original with chard as I could not find any kale.
It was nice, but lacked sufficient seasoning, in my opinion. I ended up tempering cumin seeds, mustard seeds, garlic and chilli powder and adding it at the end, effectively doubling the seasoning.
I had chard stems left after I used the leaves for soup, so I decided to make a miso-maple glaze.
First I boiled the chard stems until they were soft. Meanwhile I mixed up the glaze: 2 tablespoons light miso, 1 tablespoon maple sugar, 1/2 teaspoon mild Korean chilli powder, 2 tablespoons mirin, and 2 tablespoons sake. I drained the chard stems and tossed them in the glaze, then put them under the broiler in the oven for about five minutes before turning them over. I cooked them on the second side just until the sauce started bubbling. While they were cooking, I toasted some sesame seeds, which I sprinkled over the cooked chard.
This isn’t completely authentic but the broth has a good taste and it is just packed with vegetables. I added Thai basil and lime to garnish, which the recipe didn’t call for. I only had 10 star anise on hand so that is what I used. For mushrooms I used chestnut and dried shiitake; I let the shiitake simmer the entire 40 minutes. The mixed root vegetables in my case consisted of just one carrot, and a purple one at that, hence the lovely hue of my broth. I left out the black pepper. For the green leaves I used chard/mangold which I cooked with the rice noodles, and cress.
I started these braised vegetables as if I was making a stir fry. I heated oil in a wok, and then poured it over Szechuan peppers, star anise, dried chilli pepper, roughly chopped garlic, roughly chopped ginger, and the white part of a spring onion. I then returned the oil to the wok and added carrot, chard, king oyster mushrooms and an aubergine. After tossing the vegetables in the oil, I added a little water and put the lid on the wok. I continued to cook it, stirring periodically and adding a little water as needed, until the vegetables were cooked. I then removed the lid and added a bit of soy sauce, some agave syrup, a touch of mirin and the green part of the spring onion. Once the liquid was gone I sprinkled it with sesame seeds and served it.
I made a broth with chicken stock, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. I boiled a carrot, chard/mangold stems and black fungus in it, then removed the garlic and ginger chunks. At this point I added the chard leaves, a small sweet pepper, and the noodles. I finished it with the juice reserved from the kimchi I used to make dumplings, a marinated egg, and green onion.
I’ve had a very similar fusion dish at a Japanese restaurant, but with bok choy and bean sprouts instead of chard and black fungus.
To make this, I took about half a package of (previously frozen) tofu and squeezed out the water before crumbling it and mixing it with two heaping spoonfuls of gochujang (Korean chilli paste). I took a handful of chard leaves and stems, chopped them roughly and blanched them, then squeezed the water out of them, too, before dicing them. There are also three diced spring onions in the mix.
After mixing the filling, I put it in ready-made wrappers. The wrappers had egg in them, which is why this dish isn’t vegan, but it would be easy to make or buy ones without egg, as I sealed them with water. I fried them on each side in a bit of oil, then added some water and a lid and let them steam until the water was gone. I served them with soy sauce and chilli oil, and turned out even tastier than I expected!
The base of this soup consists of red lentils cooked until they dissolve and cashew cream. Chard/mangold adds some greens, and citrus juice (I used lemon as I didn’t have limes) and cilantro perk it up and keep it from being too heavy. I enjoyed this soup.
TMI Food 