Swiss chard sarma

Preparation – 30 minutes

Peel and finely chop the onion. Finely chop the chili pepper and combine with the minced meat, onion, mint, thyme, 3 tablespoons tomato paste. Rinse the rice very well and add it to the mixture.

Season with pepper. Rinse the swiss chard leaves and remove the stems. Divide the stems on the bottom of the pan, this way you'll prevent the chard rolls to stick to the pan or burn.

Add the rinsed leaves to a bowl and pour boiling water on top. Let it soften for 2 minutes and then place them under running cold water. Place a leaf on your cutting board and divide a spoonful of the filling on top.

Fold the sides inwards and roll it up, just like you would do with a lumpia. Repeat until all the leaves and filling are used. Divide the chard rolls over the stems inside of the pan.  

Finishing the swiss chard sarma – 30 minutes

Combine 1 tablespoon of tomato paste with a large splash of sunflower oil and about 300 ml water. Pour this mixture over the chard rolls and put the lid on.

Let it simmer on low heat for about half an hour. You can check if the rice is done by opening up 1 roll.  

SERVE with a lovely salad, enjoy!