Chard Cakes with Sorrel Sauce

There’s been quite a lot of anticipation in my life lately, exciting things just around the corner. For starters, two weeks from now is a rather large film festival that I have been planning with a few others since October and I am very excited see the outcome of that (and honestly also excited to not have to constantly think about it anymore). Of course graduation is in 5 weeks as well. I actually bought my cap and gown today. It’s bright purple and looks like a muumuu. I also can’t figure out how to put on that hood thing; it just kind of hangs there stupidly and gives me a constant feeling that I’m choking. Can’t wait to wear that for a 4 hour long ceremony on what will probably end up being a sweltering muggy day. And finally I am also anticipating all of the gorgeous spring vegetables that are slowly starting to appear at the farmers market.

I went to the market last Saturday and was floored by just how many people were out and about. Now that the regular hours have begun (which means many vendors who take the winter off will return) things just feel back to normal. I can do most of my shopping there again, no longer having to resort to the grocery store for imported lettuces and frozen vegetables. I can make a quick stop on Tuesdays to pick up a mid-week loaf of bread or fresh baked cookie. I can also more easily let the season influence my cooking and go to the market without any plans of dishes to make but instead allow the availability conjure up recipe inspiration in the moment.

While I was there I stopped by the stall for Radical Roots, an organic and sustainable community farm that was making its first market appearance of the year. They mainly had spring garden transplants but did have an array of early spring greens. That’s when I saw several bunches of bright green sorrel, one of those mysterious greens that I’ve heard a lot about but never actually tasted. The vendor let me tear off a little piece to taste and I was shocked, but pleased, by its zingy lemon flavor. And then a little trigger went off in my head, a subtle reminder that I had seen this ingredient somewhere recently. But where? Well, Ottolenghi of course, king of all things vegetabley and delicious. I had spotted a recipe for chard cakes with sorrel sauce in Plenty only a few days earlier and the sudden access to this once distant ingredient ensured I would make the recipe immediately for lunch.

The recipe is essentially a veggie burger with a sauce but don’t let that make you think that it’s as boring as that. Remember, we’re dealing with Ottolenghi here. The chard cake is delightfully delicate and tender. That being said it does take a little special care and attention when cooking them. Get a little emphatic when flipping them over and you risk having a pile of grain crumbles rather them a nice round cake. Not to say that the crumbles wouldn’t have the same wonderful earthy, briny, and salty taste as the cakes, but its much more pleasant when they stay together, right? But the key component is the sorrel sauce. Handfuls of the citrusy sorrel mixed with thick Greek yogurt and touch of olive oil, Dijon, and honey, and it is truly something worthy of eating straight with a spoon. Granted it is a tad lip-puckering but once it combines with the savory cakes, the marriage is just dreamy. Top with a fried egg and spring lunch or dinner is good to go.

Chard Cakes with Sorrel Sauce
serves 3
adapted from Ottolenghi’s Plenty

First, this recipe does take a lot of time and dishes but you could probably do some prep work to get ahead if your not making it all in one go. The sauce can be made 2 days ahead of time. You could also begin prepping your cakes by washing and steaming the chard or even making the actual patties a day ahead and letting them sit in the refrigerator until ready to fry. By the way, the sauce is so good I made a double batch and have been pouring it on everything I eat. It would be amazing on grilled vegetables or chicken or, as I did, over a white bean and tuna salad.

Ingredients
for the cakes
a large bunch of Swiss chard
2½ cups cooked and cooled bulgur wheat or other small grain (quinoa would be nice here)
¼ cup pine nuts
1 Tbs. capers, drained
1 Tbs olive oil
3 oz. crumbled feta cheese
1 egg
salt and pepper, to taste
fried egg (optional)

for the sauce
2 large handfuls washed and dried sorrel (more if you like a stronger lemony taste)
¾ cup Greek yogurt
2 Tbs. olive oil
a small drizzle of honey
salt, to taste

Start by preparing the sauce. Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and whiz until it becomes a creamy and smooth green sauce. Taste and add more salt if needed and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Wash your Swiss chard. Remove the leaves from some of the very thick stems (smaller ones are okay) and roughly tear the leaves up. Place them in a pot with a steamer basket and about an inch of water. Bring to a boil and steam until the stems are tender. Remove the chard from the pot and place in a clean kitchen towel. Wring out the leaves to remove as much water as possible. Transfer the chard to cutting board and chop roughly. Place the chard in a mixing bowl and toss with the bulgur wheat.

Heat the Tbs. of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and the capers and fry for about a minute until the pine nuts are just golden. Add them to the bowl with the bulgur and chard and stir. Add the cheese as well. Taste the mixture and add salt and pepper as needed. Then add the egg and stir until well combined. If the mixture is too wet and does not hold together, add some breadcrumbs or even some chickpea flour to thicken it up.

Form the mixture into 9 round patties and place in the refrigerator to firm up for about ½ hour. To cook, heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties in two batches (keep the cooked ones in a warm oven) for about 4 minutes on each side or until golden and hot all the way through. Be very careful when flipping them. Serve three per person as a main course with several dollops of the sauce and, if you’d like, a nice runny fried egg on top.