This dish is the delicious love child of an excessive amount of spring produce and Greek yogurt. If warm, yogurt coated vegetables sounds ridiculous, trust me—just go with it; you can thank me later.
If you're still not convinced (when have I ever led you astray?), chances are also good that you my friend haven’t met Yotam
Ottolenghi yet. The Israeli-born chef, restaurateur and author is quite
possibly one of my biggest culinary inspirations. I’ve yet to visit his
restaurants, but I pore over his books like a sorority girl reading Cosmo.
His food is produce-heavy, with a strong Middle Eastern
& Mediterranean influence. Ingredients like fresh herbs, za’atar, toasted
nuts, labneh and tahini punctuate his dishes with bold flavors and textures.
But what’s truly amazing about it isn’t that his cooking is
stuffed with obscure ingredients or weird flavor combinations, it’s that he
takes everyday ingredients and reworks them into completely fresh dishes with
just a few simple twists. Like, absolutely genius combos that make you feel
stupid for not having tried them before. Like yogurt and vegetables.
According to Ottolenghi, pasta with yogurt sauce is a
classic combo in the Palestinian dish shishbarak.
Molly’s written about it here and the folks at Food52 have a delightful Greek
twist over here. But no pasta, no problem.
There’s something synergistic about a dish of tangy yogurt
sauce and, in this case, deeply green
Swiss chard, steamed new potatoes and unabashedly large dose of fresh dill and
lemon. The hardest part is waiting for the
chard stems to caramelize in olive oil until they are rendered sweet and
tender, a step I promise you won’t want to skip.
You better believe I’ll be making this sauce with
everything: steamed asparagus, green beans, kale, radishes, spinach, green
peas, fava beans, etc. After you try it just once, you will too. I won't even say I told ya so.
Greek Yogurt-Creamed
Swiss Chard & New Potatoes
With a filet of seared salmon or grilled chicken, this is the answer to the weeknight dinner
conundrum. Add a sliced boiled egg or two, and lunch at your desk won’t seem so
dull. Heck, pour a couple mimosas and this would be the perfect accoutrement to
a sunny Easter brunch on the deck.
Serves 4 as a side
dish
Ingredients:
4 medium or 8 small new potatoes, scrubbed
1 large bunch Swiss chard
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Kosher salt
½ cup plain Greek-style yogurt
¼ cup chopped fresh dill, plus extra for garnish
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice, plus extra wedges for serving
2 tablespoons cream (optional; you could also use milk,
white wine or broth)
Cut the potatoes into
1/4'’ slices. Place in a steamer basket over simmering water and cook for 10
minutes, until tender. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Clean the Swiss chard
by swishing it in a large bowl of water to remove any debris. Tear off the
greens from the stems. Finely chop the stems and set aside. Spin the greens dry
in a salad spinner, then roughly chop.
Heat 1 tablespoon of
the olive oil in a large skillet; add the chard stems and cook over medium heat
for 15 minutes, until caramelized and tender. Add the chard greens, garlic and ½
teaspoon salt. Cook for 5 minutes, tossing frequently.
Add the yogurt, dill,
lemon zest & juice, remaining olive oil and cream (if using) and remove
from the heat. Add the cooked potatoes and toss to coat in the sauce. Taste for
seasoning and add more salt and lemon juice if necessary. Serve warm or room
temperature, garnished with extra sprigs of dill and lemon wedges for
squeezing.
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