Italian Chard Stuffing Recipes

ITALIAN-STYLE SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Wash the Swiss chard and cut into 1 inch strips. Separate the thick and tough stalk sections from the upper leafy strips.
• Bring the water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil in a large saucepan.
• Cook the stalk sections in the salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Stir in the leafy strips and cook until the leaves are wilted and the stalks are fork tender, about 6 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium heat until aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add the drained Swiss chard, cook and stir for 2 minutes; season with salt to taste.

ITALIAN SPINACH STUFFING

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté, stirring, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, spinach and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until well mixed and heated through, about 5 minutes. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Finely mince chicken gizzards. (You can do this by hand or in a food processor, but be careful not to overprocess.) Season gizzards all over with salt. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add gizzards and sauté, stirring often, until cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain off any drippings, then stir gizzards into spinach mixture. Let cool to room temperature.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. When spinach mixture is cool, add eggs, cheese, bread crumbs and parsley and stir until well combined. Transfer stuffing to a 3-quart casserole dish and bake, covered, 1 hour.

ITALIAN CHARD STUFFING

Steps:

• 1. Cut bread into 1/2-in. slices. Place slices in a large bowl and add milk. Mix gently with a spoon to saturate with milk and let stand about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. 2. Meanwhile, place a 6- to 8-qt. pot over high heat. Squeeze sausages from casings into pot. Discard casings. Cook meat, stirring often to crumble, until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes; discard fat. Add parsley, garlic, onion, and celery. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Add chard and 1/2 cup water and cook, stirring often, until wilted, about 5 minutes. 3. With your hands, squeeze bread slices to break them into tiny pieces. Add cooked meat mixture, parmesan, basil, sage, and rosemary. Season with salt to taste. 4. Preheat oven to 325° or 350° (use temperature turkey requires; see Note below). Spoon stuffing into a shallow 3-qt. (9- by 13-in.) casserole. For moist stuffing, cover with foil; for crusty stuffing, do not cover. Bake until hot (at least 150° in center) or lightly browned, at least 30 minutes. Make ahead: Up to 1 day ahead, make stuffing, put in casserole, cover, and chill. Allow about 1 hour to bake. Note: For turkeys 10-13 lbs., oven/bbq temperature should be 350°; for turkeys 14 lbs. and over, oven/bbq temperature should be 325°.

SWISS CHARD PURSES WITH SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Soak bread cubes in milk in a large bowl until softened, 20 to 30 minutes. Squeeze out milk, discarding it, then crumble bread into bowl.
• Wash chopped leeks well in a bowl of cold water, agitating them to loosen any grit, then lift out and transfer to a sieve to drain.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Crumble sausage into skillet and brown, breaking up lumps with a fork, about 3 minutes. Transfer sausage with a slotted spoon to bowl with bread. Add 2 tablespoons oil to skillet, then sauté chopped leek, chard stems, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender and just beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir vegetables into bread mixture, then cool until warm, about 15 minutes. Stir remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper into eggs, then stir eggs into bread mixture.
• Wash leek strips, then blanch in a large pot of boiling salted water , uncovered, 2 minutes and transfer with tongs to a bowl of ice and cold water (reserve water in pot). Transfer to a colander and drain well, then transfer to paper towels and pat dry. Blanch chard leaves in water just until wilted, about 30 seconds, and transfer with a slotted spoon to ice water to cool. Drain chard leaves in colander.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Spread 1 chard leaf on a work surface, using smaller leaves to patch any holes if necessary. Chard-leaf wrapper should be about 8 by 5 inches (if it's smaller, overlap several small leaves to form a larger wrapper; don't worry if wrapper is larger than 8 by 5). Mound 1/4 cup stuffing in center, then gather chard up over filling to form a purse and tie closed with a leek strip. (You have extra strips in case some break.) Make 19 more purses in same manner.
• Oil a 3-quart gratin or other shallow baking dish. Stand purses upright in dish and drizzle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil. Add broth to dish and cover purses with a sheet of wax paper or parchment, then loosely cover with foil. Bake purses until stuffing is warmed through and egg is set (cut one open on bottom to check), 35 to 40 minutes.

STUFFED SQUID SICILIAN-STYLE

Steps:

• Make the filling: Blanch the chard in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain and cool under running water. Squeeze chard completely dry and finely chop. Set aside.
• Put 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet or wide saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and fennel, season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened and lightly colored, about 10 minutes.
• Add fennel fronds, fennel seed, anchovy, garlic, oregano and red pepper. Cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes more.
• Turn off heat and transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. Add pine nuts, lemon zest, bread crumbs, cheese and reserved cooked chard. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Taste and correct seasoning.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Using a teaspoon, put some filling in each squid body, taking care not to overstuff. Place stuffed squid in an earthenware baking dish in one layer. Season squid on both sides with salt and pepper and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season tentacles with salt and pepper and arrange them around the edge of dish (alternatively, arrange tentacles in a separate baking dish). Drizzle tentacles lightly with oil. Spoon any remaining stuffing over tentacles.
• Roast uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until squid bodies are puffed, sizzling and lightly browned. If desired, run pan under the broiler for more color. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges. (May also be served at room temperature.) Serve each person 3 or 4 squid, with tentacles.

ITALIAN-STYLE SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• 1. Place the chard in a large stockpot with the rinse water still clinging to it and set on medium-high heat. When the chard begins to sizzle stir it and cover. Reduce heat to medium and cook until chard is wilted but still has texture and the leaves have turned dark green while the stems have turned a translucent grey, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat.
• 2. Heat at least 2 tablespoons of oil with the garlic in a skillet over medium heat and cook until the garlic begins to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Add the Swiss chard, squeezing out some of the liquid before adding it to the oil. Cook, stirring, until the Swiss chard has wilted entirely and the garlic is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and transfer to a warmed platter. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve.