Crispy on the edges, creamy in the center, these little chard fritters, squeezed with lemon, make the most lovely Meatless Monday meal. But more importantly they save the fridge from utter and complete dark-leafy-green domination. And for that I couldn't be more grateful. // alexandracooks.com

On Monday morning I opened the fridge to find no milk, no eggs, no juice and two vegetable drawers filled with greens. We had left the house in a scramble on Friday, dropped the kids in Vermont en route to Montreal, and returned too late on Sunday evening to think about groceries.

What was on my mind, however, was unloading some of those greens before the next CSA share arrived later that evening. The stars had aligned for Swiss chard fritters, an Ottolenghi recipe my friend Dee alerted me to this winter, which, along with the prawns with tomato and feta and the almond-clementine cake, she described as “not-to-be-missed” Jerusalem recipes.

And so I set to work plunging all of the mustard, turnip, and radish greens along with one bunch of kale into a pot of boiling water. After blitzing the blanched, cooled, squeezed greens in the food processor with lots of herbs (parsley and cilantro), a heavy grating of nutmeg, and a couple of eggs, I folded in a handful of crumbled feta. In a small frying pan, I tested one fritter for seasoning and then stored the batter in the fridge till dinnertime.

Crispy on the edges, creamy in the center, these little fritters, squeezed with lemon, made the most lovely Meatless Monday meal. More importantly, they saved my fridge from utter and complete dark-leafy-green domination. And for that, I couldn’t be more grateful.

blanched greens
food processor
puréed fritter batter
feta
frying
Crispy on the edges, creamy in the center, these little chard fritters, squeezed with lemon, make the most lovely Meatless Monday meal. But more importantly they save the fridge from utter and complete dark-leafy-green domination. And for that I couldn't be more grateful. // alexandracooks.com

A Weekend in Montreal

We had our first airbnb experience, which couldn’t have been more enjoyable. We stayed in the Mile End neighborhood:

air bnb
hallway

Isn’t traveling fun? Even courtyards are exciting.

courtyard

We ate delicious pastries at Kouign Amann.

Kouign Amann

And spent hours at Jean Talon Market.

Jean Talon Market
rhubarb at Jean Talon
flowers
Jean Talon market

We admired the cooking demo sink at Les Touilleurs,

sink at Les Touilleurs

ate delectable bagels at St. Viateur,

bagels

and drank midday beers while watching Greece vs. Columbia:

b&M

We drove — so lazy! — to the top of Mt. Royal,

view from Mt. Royal

and ate pig liver mousse at Le Comptoir:

charcuterie plate at Le Comptoir

We admired the Weck Jar votives at Sel Gras:

weck jar votives

enjoyed every drop of wine,

wine

and quickly checked the hockey score:

Ben

After dinner, we stopped at Café Olympico for the most delectable coffee and affogato:

affogato at Cafe Olympico

and watched Japan score an incredible goal against Ivory Coast.

Japan game, Café Olympico

On Sunday morning, we had our best meal of the trip at Lawrence, including a flaky, warm currant scone served with clotted cream:

Lawrence

And before heading out of town, we picked up coffees at Arts Café.

latte at Arts Cafe

Definitely will return there next visit:

Arts Cafe patio
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Swiss Chard (or Other Greens) Fritters

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5 from 3 reviews

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Description

Source: Jerusalem

Notes: As noted below, any dark leafy green will work just fine. And the same is true for the herbs — use what you have. Chives, basil, tarragon, etc. would all be delicious.

Ingredients

  • 14 to 18 ounces Swiss chard, kale, mustard, turnip or radish greens, etc, stems removed
  • ½ cup chopped Italian parsley
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro
  • ¼ cup chopped dill
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg — I never measure: just grate directly into the food processor
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • freshly cracked pepper
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 ounces crumbled feta cheese (1/2 cup)
  • Olive oil or grapeseed oil for frying
  • Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add greens and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from pot and drain well, patting leaves dry with a paper or kitchen towel. Once cool, give the greens a squeeze to remove excess water. 
  2. Place the greens in a food processor with the herbs, nutmeg, sugar, salt, pepper, flour, garlic, and eggs. Purée until well blended. Transfer to a large bowl. Fold in the feta. 
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large sauté pan — I prefer to use my nonstick skillet for these — over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, spoon in 1 heaping tablespoon of the fritter batter (you should be able to fit 5 to 6 fritters per batch). Press down gently on each fritter to flatten. Cook 1 to 2 minutes per side, until golden brown, seasoning each side with salt. I find that using two forks to flip is easier than a spatula. Transfer the cooked fritters to a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with remaining batter, wiping out the pan and adding fresh oil as needed. Serve warm, with lemon wedges (optional).
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Middle Eastern