In the kitchen with Elisa
Swiss Chard with Seafood & Rice
Goodies from the garden meet Croatian memories
The little discription under the heading kind of tells it all, but I will get more into it here and tell you all the details :) If you have been here for a while already, then you know we have a garden where I have planted all kind of delicious things, and one of those is swiss chard. In my previous post and recipe with swiss chard, Swiss Chard with Potatoes, I told where I first tried this delicious and healthy plant. It was during our trip to Croatia last year. We were travelling in a beautiful city called Sibenik and there we enjoyed a seafood platter with swiss chard and potatoes. That is when I had to grab my phone and google what is swiss chard :D Yes, when I try or see something new, I need all the information to it right away :)
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I noted the details and decided I will look for swiss chard in the local stores once we are back from the holiday. However, to my disappointment I didn´t find it.. Now that I have swiss chard growing in my garden I think I know the reason for that. Swiss chard doesn´t have a very long shelf date, it is at its best when picked and cooked within hours. I have sometimes picked some in the evening to cook for breakfast and already that seems to be too long as the green parts don´t feel as fresh anymore. I have tried both storing in the fridge and at room temperature and haven´t noticed any difference. If you have any tips for me, please tell me in the comments :) So from what I see, I think swiss chard is best grown in own garden and picked fresh to cook right away. It is really easy to grow and also it grows throughout the whole summer, so you have some all the time :) Which I find really great! It tastes similar to spinach, but in my mind is a bit milder, and it is really healthy.
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So I got inspired for the potatoe recipe and now I also used the same inspiration source for this recipe :D I did enjoy the seafood platter in Sibenik with potatoes, but to me seafood is the best served with rice. That is why I decided to try out this combination and I absolutely loved this dish. The rice soaks all the beautiful juices from the seafood, the swiss chard and garlic, and becomes super flavourful! :) Just the smell of the dish once it was ready made my mouth watering.. :) If you like red or white wine then I would like to suggest serving with a glass of wine :)
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I would love to hear your thoughts on this recipe, please write me a couple of lines in the comment section below :)
Enjoy!
Step by Step Video
RECIPE
Swiss Chard with Seafood & Rice
Goodies from the garden meet Croatian memories
​INGREDIENTS
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200g basmati rice
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a big bunch of swiss chard
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2-3 garlic cloves
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300g frozen seafood mix (pre-cooked)
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salt
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black pepper or pepper mix
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½ tsp dry garlic powder
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½ tsp dry thyme
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1 lime/lemon
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DIRECTIONS
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Start by defrosting the seafood mix as instructed on the package.
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In a small pot cook the rice in salted water until it has cooked through. Then remove from heat and leave aside.
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In the meantime, wash the swiss chard thoroughly and remove the stalks leaving the greens aside. Then cut the stalks into 1-2cm pieces and leave aside. Also cut the greens roughly and leave aside.
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Peel the garlic and slice it finely. Heat a big pan or a wok over low to medium heat with some olive oil. Add in the garlic and fry only shortly so that the garlic starts to release its juices into the oil. Make sure to keep the heat down so that the garlic doesn´t start to brown, as when it goes really brown it also becomes bitter. Then add the chopped swiss chard stalks, mix shortly, cover with a lid and cook on medium heat for five minutes.
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After the stalks have been cooking for five minutes add in the greens, mix shortly, cover again and continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes until the greens have cooked.
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Once the swiss chard has cooked add the defrosted seafood mix to the pan. Season with salt, pepper, dry garlic and thyme. Give a short mix and cook on medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
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Turn off the heat. Add as much of the cooked rice to the pan as you like (I added all of it) and mix well so that the rice is well covered with the juices that the swiss chard and the seafood have released.
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Serve warm with some drizzled lime or lemon juice on top.
TIP. For this recipe I used a pre-cooked seafood mix from the freezer. It needed to be defrosted for about an hour and then cooked for only 1-2 minutes. For this recipe you would need something similar or to pre-cook the seafood yourself in a separate pan before adding it to the other ingredients.
