Chard chana

I first sowed my Swiss chard last autumn when we had a month of unseasonable fine weather and its taken until May for them to be harvestable. What I have learnt is that its a tough veg, lasting through the winter as tiny little plants and surviving a constant uprooting and replanting from the local cat population. So get sowing now!

The past few days of warmth was bringing back memories of Barcelona and one of my favourite haunts was Juicy Jones in El Raval that served daily thali dishes of vegan goodness. Recreating this memory at home I was short on ingredients so with a few chard leaves and a tin of chickpeas I russled up an additional thali dish that is equally tasty and fulfilling to sit on its own with rice or cous cous as it is next to hot spicy aubergines.

Chard Chana

1. Take a couple of sticks of celery, an onion and four good sized leaves of swiss chard.

2. Chop the veg to equal size and fry in some olive oil until sweated off.

3. Add a teaspoon of turmeric, a clove of garlic finely chopped, a pinch of salt and half a tin of chickpeas.

4. Continue cooking add a dash of oil to moist the dish and any additional seasoning.

5. The moisture from the veg should be enough to prevent the dish drying out but you can sprinkle with water if needed.

6. Serve when the chickpeas are heated through.

This dish works well also stuffed in a pitta cold the next day , if there's any left!

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Spring greens

Well its been awhile since I've written and it seems like winter has gone on and on forever now we are in May. The trees are blossoming and the dandelions are coming into flower. What better way to kick start the summer in our bellies than with spring greens. Dandelion leaves and other edible leaves are at their best but I always go back to lush newly sprouted nettle tops for flavour and nutrients.

My previous blog on nettles last year gives a good overview of their preparation. The following recipe is as versatile as spinach but unlike spinach with nettles there is no oxalic acid to get in the way of absorbing maximum nutrients.

Nettle Greens chop-up

1.After washing your nettles well in cold water steam for 10 minutes.

2. The nettles will appear really dark green , almost black , after steaming.

3. Finely chop up your steamed nettles and season.

4. Finely chop up a scallion or any onion and stir-fry it in a pan with some oil until it takes on some colour.

5. Add your chopped steamed nettles and continue to stir fry until heated through.

6.Serve as a side to other dishes, or on toast or especially nice in a pitta with tahini or nut butters.

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