Hello all! I had a delightful time doing a cooking demonstration at William-Sonoma this past Wednesday. It was a great turnout, and I really enjoyed speaking with the public. I prepared one of my favorite finger foods! Bite sized, lemon risotto stuffed swiss chard. This is a simple preparation, taking a standard risotto, stemming and blanching swiss chard leaves, rolling them up, pan sautéing them in butter, and deglazing with lemon.
Below is the recipe I have come to love! Enjoy!
Lemon Risotto Stuffed Swiss Chard
2 cups Arborio rice
2 lemons, zested
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 sprigThyme, whole
1 shallot, minced
6-8 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine
1 cup Currants
1/2 cup shaved pecorino
2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley
1 stick butter
2 bunches swiss chard, cleaned
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1) In a large pot with a lid, add 1/4 stick of butter and 1 T olive oil.
2) In a separate pot, heat your chicken stock.
3) Over medium heat, sweat your shallots and garlic, add your sprig of thyme to the pan.
4) Once your shallots are translucent, add your rice and toast it in the oil and butter.
5) Toast the rice over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
6) Add your wine, and let it cook out for about 2 minutes.
7) Add one ladle of stock to the rice. Stir to combine.
8) Once the stock is absorbed into the rice, add another ladle.
9) Continue until the rice is cooked al dente – or still having a bite to it, remove thyme stem.
10) Remove from heat, add pecorino, currants, and 1/4 stick of butter. Stir to combine.
11) Taste the rice for seasoning, adjust as needed. Cool the risotto in an even layer in a baking dish, stir in chopped parsley as cooling.
12) Clean the swiss chard, using a knife remove the leaf from the stem.
13) Blanch stemmed swiss chard leaves in boiling water for 1 minute. Shock in ice water to stop cooking.
14) Cut leaves into 4×4 in squares.
15) Spoon two tablespoons of risotto into the leave, fold the sides in, and roll to close.
16) Keep rolling until you are out of filling. Should produce around 30 each.
17) When ready to serve, melt 1/2 a stick of butter in a large sauté pan. Place each stuffed swiss chard in the pan.
18) Lightly brown on both sides, squeeze the juice of a fresh lemon into the pan to create pan sauce.
19) Serve hot, and enjoy!
Cheers!
Sean Patrick Gallagher
