Chard Wrapped Fish with Lemon and Olive

Ingredients#

Makes 4 portions.

• 680 g skinless, center-cut white fish fillets, such as halibut or cod
• 2 lemons
• 75 g pitted mixed olives, chopped finely; plus 12 whole pitted (nice) olives
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 60 g coriander leaves, finely chopped (rough amount)
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 5 very large Swiss chard leaves (or more as needed), tough ends trimmed
• 0.5 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 0.25 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1.5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 350 ml chicken stock
• 90 grams yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
• Rice, coucous, or other cooked grain

Method#

1. Finely zest and juice the lemons. Add half the zest to a small bowl; keep the other half and the juice for later.
2. In the small bowl, combine the zest with the chopped olives 75 g , 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, half of the chopped coriander, 1 clove garlic, and the red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon until incorporated.
3. Bring a small pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Use a knife to separate the leaves from the chard stems so you have 2 leaves from each stem. Thinly slice the stems crosswise. Dip the chard leaves in the boiling water for 10 seconds to soften; drain, cool slightly, and pat dry. Keep the water to make the rice/grains in a bit.
4. Cut the fish into equal-sized pieces (one for each chard piece), season with salt and pepper, and spread the olive mixture evenly over the pieces.
5. Place each piece of fish on a piece of chard and roll it up; use the extra leaves to patch any parts that need extra wrapping.
6. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender and lightly golden, 8 to 9 minutes.
7. Add the chard stems with the remaining 3 cloves garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
8. Add the flour 1.5 tablespoons and cook, stirring, until absorbed, 1 minute.
9. Add the reserved lemon zest and juice with the stock 350 ml , salt 0.5 teaspoon , and pepper 0.25 teaspoon and cook, stirring, until the liquid thickens and bubbles, 2 to 3 minutes.
10. Stir in most of the remaining coriander.
11. Nestle the fish in the skillet, scatter the tomatoes 90 g and whole olives 12 over the fish, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the fish is opaque and the chard can be cut easily, 10 minutes.
12. Serve over the grain of your choice with sauce spooned over the top; garnish with coriander.

Notes#

• You can use salmon instead of white fish, it will just be more salmony. 🙃