Swiss chard omelette

The whole Swiss chard leaf is used in this omelette. Because fibre is essential for a healthy dietary, reserved stems from other chard leaves are added to bulk up the fibre content.

Swiss chard omelette

Fibre is a complex carbohydrate composed of a sugar molecule attached to other non-sugar molecules. Most dietary fibre is indigestible. Of that portion which is soluble, the carbohydrate released is not the type that provides energy. Rather, it is pectin, which is good for your heart.

            Yield: 1 omelette

Clockwise: Swiss chard leaf and
 sliced stalks, eggs, garlic,
and celeriac stalks

Ingredients:

1 Swiss chard stalk 

2 celeriac stalks, leaves intact

1 garlic clove, peeled, minced

small handful chopped Swiss chard stalks

2 eggs, whipped

2 tablespoons tomato salsa

2 tablespoons tomato paste

        ¼ teaspoon ghee

¼ teaspoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon Balkan yoghurt

Preparation:

1. Wash and spin dry vegetables. 

2. Remove central stalk from Swiss chard leaf. Clean 3 or 4 other Swiss chard stalks. Thinly slice Swiss chard stalks to produce a quantity of about 1 cup. Reserve.

3. Slice celeriac stalks and leaves in the same manner. Reserve.

4. In a non-stick saute pan over low heat, cook minced garlic in melted ghee and coconut oil until it releases fragrance ( about 1 minute). Add sliced Swiss chard stalks and celeriac stalk slices. Saute for about 5 minutes.

Swiss chard stalks, celeriac stalks, and garlic in saute pan

5.Raise heat to medium. Pour in whipped eggs. 

6. Slice Swiss chard leaves crosswise into 1 cm. (½-in.) strips. In a separate pot with steaming basket, lightly steam slice chard for about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Place steamed Swiss chard slices in a separate covered bowl.

Sliced Swiss chard leaf

7. Cook omelette until egg is almost set. Slide a spatula around the rim of the omelette to prevent adherence. Shake the pan to ensure that omelette is loose. Flip omelette over to cook the top side for a few minutes. 

Flip omelette over again. Spread steamed Swiss chard over half of the omelette. Fold the uncovered omelette half over the steamed Swiss chard. Lift onto a serving plate.

8. Add salsa to tomato paste. Stir. Add tomato paste and yoghurt to serving plate.

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Steamed beet with black quinoa

Enjoy all the health benefits of cooked beets along with the protein and other nutrients of quinoa in this easy-to-make, colourful dish which can be used as a meal in itself, as well as a side dish. Despite the ease, once again, this is slow cooking, with preparations requiring planning and time.

Steamed beet with black quinoa

                                                                               Yield: 2 - 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 medium-sized beet, stalks removed

1 bay leaf

2-3 cups water

Hydrating celeriac

1 large sweet white onion

1 hydrated celeriac with stalks and leaves attached

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)

½ cup  black quinoa

¾ cup water

Dressing

2 tbsp. chopped celeriac stalks and leaves

2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

3-4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

¼ teaspoon brown sugar

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

1. Thoroughly wash whole celeriac. Immerse celeriac in a deep container of cold water to hydrate. (It is preferable that this is done the day prior to making this recipe.)

2. Thoroughly wash beet. Place whole beet root and bay leaf in steamer basket in a pressure cooker. Add 2-3 cups water. Bring the pressure cooker to a boil (following instructions in your manual). Reduce heat to medium and cook beet for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave pressure cooker to rest until the safety latch is released. Remove beet to an air-tight container to cool. Discard bay leaf and pot liquor.

3. Meanwhile, rinse quinoa. Bring ¾ cup water to boil in a small pot. Add quinoa. Return to the boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer, covered, for 15 - 20 minutes. Turn heat off, leaving quinoa to cook and absorb the remaining water.

4. Cut away ¼ of a large sweet white onion. Peel. Chop into a small dice, producing approximately ½ cup.

5. Cut away ¼ of the celeriac (the root only). Peel. Chop into a small dice, producing approximately ½ cup. Add to onion dice.

Diced steamed beet root

6. Slip skin off beet. Cut beet into small dice.

Sauteing onion and celeriac dice

7. Heat olive oil and ghee in saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and celery root dice. Saute until onion turns translucent. 

8. Fold 1 cup cooked quinoa into the onion and celery root mixture. Heat through.

1 cup cooked black quinoa

Black quinoa, onion and celeriac

9. Add diced beet. Raise heat to medium. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. 

10. Turn out into a serving dish. 

Steamed beet root with black quinoa

Dressing:

Snip away two stalks with leaves from celeriac. Chop into small dice. Chop cilantro. Add to diced celeriac leaves and stalks. Add vinegar, brown sugar, sea salt and pepper.  Stir. Serve as an accompaniment in a small bowl.

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Wilted beet greens with garlic

This small serving of wilted beet greens is a wonderful pick-me-up of delightful flavours. The quantities are only roughly provided since each bunch of whole beet greens will yield a different measure of chopped beet greens. 

Wilted beet greens with garlic

                                                                                  Yield: 1 serving

Ingredients:

1 bunch of beet greens, about 6 - 8 whole leaves with stalks

1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)*

1 lemon wedge

Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt, if desired

Preparation:

Beet leaves, washed and spun

1.  Sever the stalks and leaves from one or more beet roots. cut away the stalks and retain the beet greens. Wash the leaves, rinse, and spin them out in a vegetable spinner to remove as much water as possible.

Beet greens, sliced

2. Slice the leaves crosswise, to produce strips about 2 cm. (¾ in.) wide.

Garlic, minced, sauteing in ghee

3.  In a saute pan, heat the ghee to bubbling over high heat. Add minced garlic. Stir and cook until the garlic releases its fragrance. 

4. Add the beet greens. Stir or toss with two forks and cook for about 2 minutes, until the leaves are wilted.

5. Remove from heat.Turn out into a small dish together with lemon wedge. Grind sea salt and black pepper over the mixture, if desired.

* Ghee is clarified butter, i.e., butter from which milk residue has been removed. Yes, it is saturated fat but that is okay. Saturated fat is acceptable so long as you don't overdo it. The maximum intake of saturated fats (on average) should not exceed 7% of your daily calorie intake which, for an average woman, is approximately 2000 calories. That equals approximately 16 grams of saturated fat. One tablespoon of butter equals  7 grams of saturated fat; therefore, one teaspoon of ghee is well within the bounds of safety. In addition, should you choose to saute a larger quantity of beet greens than indicated in this recipe, they can still be wilted in the same single teaspoon of ghee. Or you can reduce the amount of ghee to, perhaps, half a teaspoon. As always, the choice is yours.

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