WARM SWISS CHARD & TAHINI CHICKPEAS

This is the season when strong greens are plentiful – spinach, kale and chard. Though kale is all the rage and spinach has always been there, Swiss chard is less common and less used. 
 
 
Yet, it has its own special flavour. Wilted Swiss chard, along with a little garlic and maybe a few pine nuts, makes a wonderful side dish. Topping them with a nice portion of tahini chickpeas is a perfect, easy, and very tasty meal.
 
Start by preparing the chickpeas, then set aside. Wilt the chard and then serve together with a little fresh mint sprinkle over top and an extra squeeze of lemon juice. The mint and the lemon juice give it that fresh Mediterranean flavour.
 
Enough for 2 hungry souls!
 
TAHINI CHICKPEAS

1. A tin of chickpeas 400g
2. 2 or 3 scallions - chopped
3. Fresh mint leaves - chopped
4. Tahini sauce  ( sesame seed sauce, see below

 
Tahini Sauce :   1/4 cup of tahini, 1/2 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon, a clove of garlic, pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp of date syrup - optional ( or maple syrup, agave is good ) – just blend it all together to make the sauce.
 
METHOD
Empty tin of chickpeas into a pot and bring to the boil, immediately drain the water and set aside.
Soften the scallions in a little olive oil, then add the chopped mint, the chickpeas and the tahini sauce ... mix all together.
 
SWISS CHARD

1. One big bunch of Swiss Chard, when they wilt, they reduce quite a lot..
2. 1 or 2 garlic cloves – minced
3. Pinch of salt

 
METHOD
Rinse the chard, do not bother to dry. Chop the thicker stalks into small pieces and the leaves into larger sections. Soften the thick stems in a drop of olive oil or water. After a few minutes, add the leaves and the garlic and stir until all the leaves are wilted and then sprinkle a little salt at the end.
  
To serve, make a bed of the wilted Swiss chard and top it with a nice ladle of the chickpeas. Finish with a sprinkle a little fresh chopped mint and a squeeze of lemon.
  
- Voila, that easy … and it always tastes great!😊

​Jacques, from Hungry Soul

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