Sometimes you crave a special meal. Heck, you just want to feel special right? AIP can feel restrictive, but changing things up can help! Thankfully for me, I enjoy cooking and I am always looking to create something new. Sometimes just using some new techniques to cook can give you an interesting meal! That is what I did to make these gourmet-style Chicken Stuffed Swiss Chard Roll Ups!
In Indian cuisine, there is a similar roll up recipe which uses Colocasia leaves and chickpea flour. One day I got a particularly fresh looking bunch of Swiss chard from our local grocers, and looking at the large beautiful leaves, the thought of creating an AIP version of these traditional roll ups came to mind.
Ground meat was the best replacement for the chickpea batter I could think of and so I tried it. I was successful on the first attempt but I continued to tweak the seasonings until I was fully satisfied! The added herbs in this recipe — fresh parsley and rosemary — make it very delightful and refreshing! And what a tasty way to add nutrient-dense Swiss chard into your diet!
I like to pair this with a light salad or a small soup but this recipe would also be perfect as an appetizer. Make it when you have friends over and you’re sure to impress them!
- 4 large Swiss chard leaves
- 1 lb ground chicken, thawed
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 4 large garlic cloves minced (about 2 tbsp)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped fine
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped fine
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice(seeds discarded)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Carefully select 4 large sized leaves from your bunch. Wash and clean them dabbing with a kitchen towel or paper towel.
- Cut the stems off completely.
- Fold each leaf vertically in the center and trim off the bulging vein in the center slightly by using a sharp knife taking care not to cut the vein completely as that will tear the leaf. Trimming the vein will help in rolling the leaves.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the ground chicken, sea salt, garlic, parsley, rosemary, lemon juice and olive oil. Using your hands mix everything together well and divide mixture into 4 equal portions. Keep aside.
- On a large cutting board, place one swiss chard leaf, vein side facing up. Take one portion of the chicken mixture and place it on the leaf. Pat it gently with your fingers spreading it to cover most of the leaf.
- Now place another leaf on top of this leaf in the same way and again add the chicken mixture on top spreading it all over the second leaf.
- Repeat this process two more times finishing up the chicken mixture.
- Next roll the stack of leaves (with chicken stuffing)gently and carefully from one end(along the length of the leaf) to the other until you get a big fat roll.
- Place a stainless steel steamer basket or a sieve on top of a cooking pot. Fill the cooking pot with about 1 cup of water and let it come to a boil. Then place the stuffed roll on top of the basket (or the sieve) and cover the pot with a lid. Steam for 10 minutes on medium heat.
- You can alternately also use an Instant Pot to steam using the steamer insert.
- Just before serving, take the steamed roll and place on a serving dish. Using a large knife cut the roll into 8-10 slices (about ½ an inch thick).
- Serve stuffed roll ups as an appetizer or as a meal with a salad!
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