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Swiss Chard and Lamb Torte With Fennel-Pomegranate Relish
![Swiss Chard and Lamb Torte With Fennel-Pomegranate Relish](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/09/13/dining/13ROSHRECIPE/13ROSHRECIPE-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 2½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 2⅓cups medium-grain or sushi rice (1 pound)
- About 10 to 12 large green Swiss chard leaves (from 1 to 2 bunches)
- ½cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2medium onions, finely chopped
- 1pound ground lamb
- ¾cup roasted shelled pistachios
- 1tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt
- 2¼teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1teaspoon cinnamon
- 1teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1tablespoon fennel seeds
- ½cup chopped mint leaves
- 4cups chicken stock
- 2fennel bulbs, roughly chopped (reserve fronds for decorating torte)
- 1Serrano chile pepper
- Juice of 2 freshly squeezed lemons (about 6 tablespoons)
- 4tablespoons pomegranate syrup
- 2cups pomegranate seeds
- Kosher or coarse sea salt, to taste
- ⅓cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
For the Torte
For the Chopped Fennel, Pomegranate and Mint Relish
Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the torte: Place rice in a heat-proof bowl. Bring 3 cups water to a boil, pour over rice, and let stand uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, and prepare an ice bath in a large bowl with ice cubes and cold water. Separate the bottom stems from the leaves of the Swiss chard, dicing the stems and setting aside. Blanch the leaves, in batches if necessary, by placing them in the boiling water for 20 seconds, then use tongs to transfer them to the ice bath. Drain the leaves and spread them out to dry in a single layer on paper towels.
- Step 3
Heat a large pan over medium-high heat, add ¼ cup olive oil and sauté onions and chopped chard stems, about 10 minutes, until soft and starting to brown. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Step 4
Drain the rice and pour it into a large bowl. Add lamb, sautéed onion and chard stalks, pistachios, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, fennel seeds, mint leaves and ¼ cup olive oil and mix thoroughly.
- Step 5
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Take a round Dutch oven or other heavy 10-inch round pot with a lid and coat it with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Line the pot with a layer of the Swiss chard leaves, with the bottom ends of the leaves protruding from the pot. (Ideally you'd have at least a 3-inch overhang.) Place the rice-meat stuffing in the pot and fold the overhanging leaves over the top of the filling. If necessary, layer additional leaves on top to completely enclose the filling.
- Step 6
Place chicken stock in a small pan over high heat; when it's hot, pour it over the torte. Cover the pot and transfer to oven. Let torte bake for 30 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 275 degrees and continue cooking for about 1 hour more, or until rice is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed. (You can carefully peel away a leaf to check the rice, replacing it after you’ve tasted.)
- Step 7
Meanwhile, prepare the relish: Using a food processor, pulse fennel bulbs and Serrano pepper until finely chopped, being careful not to overprocess. Turn fennel and chile mixture out into a medium bowl and add lemon juice, pomegranate syrup, pomegranate seeds and salt and mix to combine. Stir in olive oil and adjust salt to taste. Just before serving, mix in the mint leaves.
- Step 8
When torte is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes, covered. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the torte; cover with a flat, round serving platter; and invert the pot to remove the torte. Serve decorated with fennel fronds and garnished with fennel, pomegranate and mint relish.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
My cast iron dutch oven is 300 lb (or feels like it) How do you invert on to a platter without injury?
Does one brown the lamb before mixing it with the rice?
I made this using Beyond Meat, a vegetarian hamburger substitute, which tasted great and had the right texture. I used long grain rice because I didn't have enough of the short, and that was fine. The spices were delicious, though I followed one commenter's advice and doubled the amounts. Instead of boiling up a pot of water and cooking the chard, I put it into a big bowl and poured boiling water on top, stirred, waited 20 seconds, drained, and rinsed in cold water.
I thought this was very easy to put together...really good flavor profile. I used grape leaves and made individual portions in 12oz souffle cups. Since I couldn't find pomegranates yet I made a fennel and mint tzaztiki sauce. a nice glass of wine, barrel aged feta and fresh tomatoes...very tasty!
I've made similar in a 10" cake pan. Much easier to invert over a serving plate.
Thoughts on cooking and mashing some lentils in place of the ground lamb for a vegetarian version?
With a really heavy baking dish, I would practice the inverting with a less important recipe first, for example, corn bread. After loosening the food from the dutch oven and using oven mitts to hold bottom of the plate firmly against the top of the dutch oven, try inverting the whole thing into the sink so that gravity is working for you. Obviously, the sink should be empty, clean and dry.
It turned out really well! BUT it was a ton of work (I had not fully read the recipe) I used raspberrys in place of the pomegranate seeds because I couldn't find them. I also had to increase the cooking time by 45 min.
I will make it again
I made it last night as written EXCEPT I doubled all the spices and added about a TB of cumin. Definitely a bit project-y, but not technically difficult, and guests were impressed with the presentation and taste. Looking forward to leftover today.
I do plan to cook this. However, may I substitute pomegranate molasses for the syrup? Thanks
Why all the oil? I did not use it. It tasted fine. It needed a few more bunches of swiss chard for the recipe.
Visually impressive dish. I would recommend partially browning lamb (makes it easier to disperse in the rice and add more lamb). The relish makes the dish--the combo is really good.
Made this yesterday. Meh. Only moderately flavorful even after adopting several suggestions in the thread below. No problem with the process -- just seems like a lot of effort for what is essentially a meatloaf. The relish was good (used raspberries). Also, 4 cups of stock way too much. Drained at least 2 cups of liquid form the pot before flipping.
I substituted pomegranate molasses for the syrup as I could not find the syrup. it was very good.
yes. I made this on Tuesday evening and served Thursday evening for dinner. it was delicious.
I replaced the rice with farro ( awful allergy ) and this was a huge hit! Baked it in a spring form pan wrapped in foil. Delicious and gorgeous on the holiday buffet.
I agree with everyone else: double the spices and add cumin. It was delicious if cooked that way. Don't leave out the relish though - that's what makes it really tasty.
I made this last night. It smells divine and the taste was good. Unfortunately I only had beef in the freezer so I think lamb would be the ticket. I like the idea of doubling the spices or adding some cumin. I found the relish just too harsh. I might just sprinkle pomegranate seeds all over before serving.
This is a really pretty dish. I loved the contrast between the bright slightly acidic relish and the earthy ness of the torte. I did feel that the rice and lamb was over-peppered and under-lambed. Next time I’m going with a pound and a quarter of lamb and somewhat less black pepper.
Why all the oil? I did not use it. It tasted fine. It needed a few more bunches of swiss chard for the recipe.
This was delicious and fun to make. Used chard from the garden. Next time, I will increase lamb to rice ratio and add currants. Also, not crazy about relish (sorry, Ms. Nathan, I do love your recipes)...anyone have any ideas about a substitute?
I made this last night, with some modifications. First, sauteed the fennel in olive oil; substituted diced tomatoes and watermelon for the pomegranate, and used a handful of coriander (cilantro), a bit of mint and lime juice. It was really delicious, and made the dish, because the seasoning in the torte was subtle (I recommend increasing the spices). Also served it with yogurt with garlic and lime. Used long grain rice and einkorn. Turned it out onto a cookie sheet. Held together OK.
Delicious! Made this for a small dinner party and it was a hit. made a few small tweaks in terms of process: -added salt, red pepper flakes & spices while sautéing the onion and chard stems -added meat at the end of the veggie sautéing and spiced a bit again - didn't cook through just wanted it to get flavored for a few min
I used a Le Cruset shallow pan with a lid that I could serve it in, so I reversed the positioning of the Swiss chard. I reduced the salt to 1 tsp. and only used a splash of oil into the meat rice mixture .. I think the dish turned out great with these minor modifications. It was subtly delicious in an unusual way. If you can find pomegranate seeds already cleaned, it's worth it. I know everyone's oven is different, but I checked after 30 minutes @ 275 and it was done.
I made the recipe exactly. It fell apart, I was hoping for a nice round loaf that could be sliced. What did I do wrong?
Made this yesterday. Meh. Only moderately flavorful even after adopting several suggestions in the thread below. No problem with the process -- just seems like a lot of effort for what is essentially a meatloaf. The relish was good (used raspberries). Also, 4 cups of stock way too much. Drained at least 2 cups of liquid form the pot before flipping.
It did not hold together. It was too moist despite the fact that most of the stock was used up, therefore could not invert as ikt would have fallen all over the place. I feel it needed something to bind all the elements, possibly eggs? I was hoping for a loaf that coluld be sliced and served.
Can this be made Tuesday night for Thursday lunch (minus the topping)? Is that too long to store it baked in the fridge?
yes. I made this on Tuesday evening and served Thursday evening for dinner. it was delicious.
I thought this was very easy to put together...really good flavor profile. I used grape leaves and made individual portions in 12oz souffle cups. Since I couldn't find pomegranates yet I made a fennel and mint tzaztiki sauce. a nice glass of wine, barrel aged feta and fresh tomatoes...very tasty!
I made this using Beyond Meat, a vegetarian hamburger substitute, which tasted great and had the right texture. I used long grain rice because I didn't have enough of the short, and that was fine. The spices were delicious, though I followed one commenter's advice and doubled the amounts. Instead of boiling up a pot of water and cooking the chard, I put it into a big bowl and poured boiling water on top, stirred, waited 20 seconds, drained, and rinsed in cold water.
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