I had lots and lots and lots of silverbeet and Swiss chard in the garden, I filled a big basket and though of a recipes to use them all, plus the omnipresent onion weed, plus flowering sage. Strangolapreti is a type of gnocchi made either with spinach or with silverbeet, plus bread crumbs or stale bread. 

First divide the leaves from the stalks and wash well (the stalks will be used in a different recipe)

Then cook the leaves with a little water and a pinch of salt, drain, add the raw onion weed (well washed) and blend.

Place into a bowl, add a couple of tbsp of grated Parmigiano, and some breadcrumbs, enough ti get a soft dough. If using stale bread grate it to breadcrumbs (if very dry), or soak it in milk and break it up, if not dry enough to grate. Add salt and pepper to taste, and if you like add one egg (it will keep the 'gnocchi' more 'together'. 

Shape into longish gnocchi, more or less the size of a cotton bobbin. 

Drizzle with butter, melted in a pan with a few sage leaves, and sprinkle with fresh sage flowers (and onion weed flowers too, if you like). Add more Parmigiano and serve hot.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Wash and cut two small bunches of silver beet, (or a big bunch) then steam the stalks for 10 minutes and the leaves for 5 minutes.

Peel and roughly chop two shallots. In a heavy pot heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil (or ghee) then add the shallots.

Stir and add the spices.

Stir to coat the shallots.

Add the silver beet and a little water, plus a pinch of salt, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add a handful of chopped coriander and blend with an immersion blender.

In the meantime pan fry one block of paneer, cubed, with two tbsp of vegetable oil, a pinch of salt, coriander seeds and cumin seeds.

Add the hot paneer to the silverbeet curry. 

Stir and keep warm while cooking the rice.

Use the same pot where you fried the paneer: keep the leftover cumin and coriander seeds, add a few chili flakes if you like and then the rice.

Add Basmti rice, rinsed a few times, and coat with the oily spices, then cover with water, a pinch of salt, and steam. Serve the hot rice with the silver beet Paneer.

A crop that never fails me is silver beet (Swiss Chard) and since I find it easier to grow than spinach I mostly use it to make palak paneer (although in this case is silver beet paneer !) and silver beet baked pasta. Click here for even more recipes with silver beet.

I cut the outer leaves and leave the plants in the garden, as they keep making leaves until Autumn!

I also have mixed salad leaves (lots of mizuna this year) and an variety of flowers. Didi you know that you can eat impatient (busy lizzy) flowers too? They taste a bit like rocket, the best for me are the red ones, but the pink ones are so pretty! 

 Photos and recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Swiss chard (silver beet) is a vegetable that you can always find in winter, and fortunately I love it. Also it can be cooked in so many ways, as a side or as an ingredient for a main. This is a quick side, I never had it 'spicy' and I was pleasantly surprised! 

Just wash the silver beet (chard), cut the white stalks and leaves into fork-size pieces (pieces that you can pick up with a fork). Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan, add a peeled clove of garlic or two, and some fresh chilies (I added a green and a red, chopped). When the garlic and chilies sizzle add the white stalks and stir. After a few minutes add the leaves and salt to taste. Cover and let the leaves cook in their own steam, stirring from time to time. Serve hot. Yummy, different and super easy!

And for more silver beet ideas look at all the recipes below :-)

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©