Directions

Begin by making the carrot puree (‘the mash’).

Peel the carrots and slice into ¼ inch diagonal slices. Finely dice the sweet onion and measure 1 cup, approximately. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced onions and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine. Continue to cook over low heat and cover the pan. This technique is known as ‘etuvé’: a French term for “steaming or sweating”. By covering the pan and cooking over low heat, the onions will soften and render their flavorful juices to the bottom of the pan. When the onions are translucent, add the sliced carrots, the prepped garlic, 1 tablespoon butter and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. Again, stir to combine. Cover the pan and cook over low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes or until carrots are soft. Stir in the ground spices, the dill and a couple of twists of the pepper mill. Cook, uncovered over low heat until the spices are fragrant, just another minute or two. Add 4 cups of liquid, either water or stock. Bring pot to a simmer and cook until carrots are soft and mushy and liquid has reduced by about 25%.

Let the carrots cook for 15 to 20 minutes or more.

Turn off the heat when you have a thick soft puree and set aside.

prepare the swiss chard

Wash the bunch of swiss chard in plenty of cold water. Tear the leaves from the stems and drain the leaves in a strainer or colander. Save the stems.

Trim the chard stems. Trim the stems with a knife by cutting off and discarding the bottom ½ inch of thick end of the stem. Cut off and discard the thin spindly ends that held the leaves. You’ll be left with a pile of 4 to 5-inch pieces of chard stems that resemble celery. Cut across the stems into a small dice. If the stems are wider than ½-inch cut them in half lengthwise first to make them ‘thinner’ first. Set aside.

Finely chop the onion and measure out approximately ½ cup. Thinly slice or mash 1 medium-clove of peeled garlic. Warm-up a sauté pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and ‘etuvé’/sweat the onions over low heat. Add a pinch of kosher salt, stir the onions and cover the pan. Cook until onions are translucent and softened. Now add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute or two. (By adding the garlic after the onions have softened, we have protected the garlic from potentially burning.)

Add the diced chard stems to the cooked onions and garlic. Add a pinch of kosher salt. Stir to combine. Cook covered over medium-low heat for about 6-8 minutes or until chard stems have softened.

To chop the chard leaves: grab a small pile of washed and drained leaves and roll up loosely into a cigar. Cut across the cigar into ¼-inch ‘ribbons. Continue cutting all the chard in this manner.

Add the ‘ribboned’ chard to the sauté pan along with a pinch or two of salt. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.

Cover the pan and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring often. The goal is to render the chard into a soft and glistening pile of greens. Slow cooking the chard will achieve a silky result. Set aside.

harissa yogurt

In a small bowl, loosen the harissa paste with a teaspoon or two of water. This will make it easier to swirl into the yogurt. Add the yogurt to a second bowl along with a pinch of kosher salt, Add the harissa paste and stir to combine. Set aside.

Rough chop the pistachios by hand on a cutting board or pulse briefly in a food processor.

Assembly

Puree the cooked carrots in a food processor. Reheat and taste for seasoning.

Divide the carrot puree among 4 shallow bowls. Add a portion of chard greens to the center of the carrots. (n.b. leftover cooked chard greens would make a delicious frittata or omelet)

Swirl some yogurt harissa over the top.

Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top.