Swiss Chard Rolls with Bulgur Stuffing – Bulgurlu Pazi Dolmasi

Swiss Chard Rolls with Bulgur Stuffing

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches of Swiss Chards (about 12 leaves)
• 3 cups boiling water
• 1 ½ cup No1(fine) or No 2 bulgur
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 heaping table spoon tomato paste
• 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

• ½ cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• Dash of salt

Directions:

Wash the Swiss chard leaves. Cut out the ribs from the leaves. In a large pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil, remove from heat. Place leaves in hot water for 10 minutes to soften for rolling. Remove leaves, drain in a colander, set aside.

Place bulgur in a strainer, rinse and let it drain.

Swiss chard

Swiss chard leaves with ribs removed

In a pot, sauté onions in olive oil until golden brown. Add garlic and bulgur, sauté for another 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

In a small bowl, combine tomato paste and 1 cup of boiling water, gently stir until smooth. Add tomato sauce, salt and pepper to taste to the pot. Stir for a minute, remove from heat, set aside with lid closed, letting bulgur absorb the sauce. Add chopped parsley, dill and mint to the pot, stir with a spoon. The filling is ready.

Bulgur filling with fresh herbs

Drizzle some olive oil to the bottom of a pot. Now you’ll roll the leaves and will put the rolls into this pot and cook.

Take each half leaf, put it on a flat surface with rough side up. Place a teaspoonful of the filling to the bottom portion of the leaf. First fold the bottom over the filling, then fold the sides and start rolling it up like a burrito. Place the roll in the pot with the seam at the bottom. Repeat this for each half leaf until all of the leaves are rolled. 

Wrapping the leaves

For the sauce, mix the tomato paste and the boiling water, add a pinch of salt. Pour the sauce over the rolls. Place a small, flat plate over the rolls. Cover the pot with the lid. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower the heat to low, let it simmer until leaves are tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat, let it cool to room temperature. Transfer to a serving plate, garnish with slices of lemon.

Stuffed Swiss chard cooked, ready to serve

Swiss chard rolls

 Afiyet Olsun! Bon Appetit!