Swiss Chard Dolmas Recipe with Feta, Rice and Garlic Yogurt Sauce

Lately, in our efforts to consume locally and organically sourced food, Adrian and I have been getting our produce delivered from Boston Organics.  Though it is not exclusively local produce we get, it is organic and the folks at BO do their best to provide as many locally sourced veggies as possible.  As you might predict, this means there are some weeks that we get repeat visitors in our produce box.  This week was the third or fourth week in a row we have gotten green chard.  As much I love chard sauteed with garlic and red pepper served with a squeeze of lemon, I was looking for something new to do with our chard.  I absolutely love dolmas and thought, why wouldn’t I be able to make these with chard?

Upon doing some research, I learned I was far from the first person to venture outside of the realm of grape leaves as a vehicle to make dolmas.  Any vegetable stuffed with rice or a rice and meat mixture, including tomatoes, zucchini, and eggplants, are known as dolmas in the Turkish culture.  I deviated from most Turkish recipes, however, because I used ground pork instead of ground beef.

The Swiss chard made a beautiful wrapper for the flavorful rice and meat combination, and the yogurt sauce was the perfect accompaniment.  In America, we don’t often see dolmas taking center stage as the main dish, but these are much larger than the vegetarian version made with grape leaves.  The make a wonderful and healthy dinner all on their own.

Ingredients for dolmas:

10-12 large green chard leaves, washed thoroughly
1/2 lb. fresh ground pork (or turkey, beef, or lamb)
1/2 onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 cups uncooked rice pilaf
1 package of seasoning (in rice pilaf box)
2 cups chicken stock
1 tbs. butter
1 tbs. olive oil
Red pepper flakes to taste

Begin by trimming the stems off the chard.  Do this by cutting diagonally up the spine about a half inch from the base of the leaf on either side to form and upside down V cut.  Removing this thick lower part of the stem will make rolling the dolmas easier.

Next, blanch the chard leaves in boiling salted water for three to four minutes, or until they are just tender.  You want them to hold their color and shape, so submerge them in an ice bath immediately after you remove them from the boiling water. Once they have cooled, layer them in between paper towels and set aside.

To make the filling, begin by browning the meat in the olive oil over medium heat.  Remove the meat when it is just a bit shy of being done.  If there is excess grease, remove it from the pan.  Add the butter and saute the onions until they are soft, about five minutes.  Add the garlic and cook another minute.  Add the uncooked rice, the chicken stock, raisins, red chili flakes, and the seasoning packets.  Reduce the heat to low and cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the rice is almost cooked. Add the feta cheese and the cooked meat.

To roll, place about 1/3 cup of the rice mixture at the base of the chard leaf.  Lift the sides of the leaf over the mixture and roll towards the tip of the leaf.  Keep the sides tucked in.  When you finish rolling the dolma, place it with its flap side down in a steamer basket.  Repeat this process until all dolmas are rolled and placed in a single layer into the steamer basket.

Steam the dolmas over a couple of inches of water on low heat for about 40-45 minutes.

Ingredients for Garlic Yogurt Sauce:

1 cup of plain Greek yogurt
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
2 tbsp. lemon (more to taste)
1 tbsp. of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of olive oil

Mix all of the above ingredients except the olive oil well.  Whisk in the olive oil in a slow stream.  Let sit for at least an hour in the refrigerator before serving.