Farcettes de poirée (Stuffed Swiss Chard Leaves) - Testing

Farcettes de poirée — amended version

Stuffed Swiss chard leaves with chèvre-potato filling

Makes about 20–24 farcettes, depending on the size of the leaves

Filling: approximately 70–80 g per farcette

Ingredients

Potatoes & chard

4 large potatoes, similar in size, about 900–1000 g raw

1½ Tbsp oil, for the potatoes

1 large bunch Swiss chard, preferably with large leaves — enough for 20–24 good-sized leaves

60–80 g Swiss chard ribs, finely diced, or whatever quantity comes from the leaves

15 g lemon juice, for the filling

1–2 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Filling

340 g onions, finely diced

60 g butter, divided

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

180–200 g chèvre, crumbled

10–12 g salt, to start, then more to taste

1–1½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

¼–½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

15–25 g lemon juice, to taste

30–40 g flour, for dusting the farcettes

60–80 g butter, for frying, adding more as needed

To serve

A tart, not-too-sweet fruit compote — plum, sour cherry, apple, quince, etc.

1. Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F.
2. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork and rub them with the oil. Bake directly on a baking sheet until completely tender in the centre, about 60 minutes, depending on size. (You want the potatoes dry and fluffy, rather than steamed. Don't wrap them in foil.)
3. When they're cool enough to handle, cut them open and scoop out the flesh. Keep it hot or warm.
4. Meanwhile, carefully separate the largest chard leaves.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the leaves for about 45–60 seconds, just until flexible.
6. Immediately transfer them to cold water, then drain and spread them on clean towels. Pat them fairly dry.
7. Don't overcook them—they need to remain intact enough to wrap the filling.
8. Trim away any exceptionally thick portion of the central rib if necessary, so the leaf will fold easily.
9. Keep all the ribs and smaller leaves. These are going into the filling.
10. Finely dice the chard ribs into approximately 5–6 mm pieces.
11. Melt 30 g butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and a good pinch of the salt.
12. Cook slowly for 15–20 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onions are deeply softened and beginning to turn golden.
13. Add the diced chard ribs and continue cooking for another 8–12 minutes, until they're completely tender and most of their moisture has cooked away.
14. Add the garlic and cook for another 1–2 minutes.
15. Reduce the heat to low and rice the hot baked potato directly into the onion/chard mixture.
16. Add the remaining 30 g of butter, the chèvre, lemon zest, lemon juice, 
17. nutmeg, black pepper and remaining salt.
18. Fold everything together gently until homogeneous.
19. Adjust seasoning with salt and lemon juice.
20. Put a generous 70–80 g portion of filling in the centre of each chard leaf.
21. Fold the sides inward and roll into a neat parcel.
22. If a leaf is too small or has torn, use two leaves together. Don't make the parcels too enormous—the charm of these is the contrast between the crisp exterior and the creamy filling.
23. You should get roughly 20–24 farcettes.
24. Spread the flour in a shallow dish and lightly flour each farcette, shaking off the excess.
25. Melt some of the frying butter in a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat.
26. Fry the farcettes in batches, seam-side down first, until deeply golden and crisp on both sides, adding more butter between batches as necessary.
27. Serve the farcettes hot, with a modest spoonful of tart fruit compote alongside, such as sour cherry, tart plum, quince or a relatively sharp apple compote.

From Madeleine Kamans pg 268

1 - Where was all the flavor promised by the amazing smell of the potato mixture? Does it just need more seasoning?

Makes 20-30 rolls

Preparation time ?

4 large potatoes of similar size

1 1/2 Tbsp oil

? large Swiss chard leaves (a large heart? Does that mean a whole plant?)

Juice of 1 lemon

4+2 Tbsps. flour

2 onions (12oz/340g) finely diced

2 Tbsps.+2 Tbsps.+ more butter, as needed

Salt

Pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

Nutmeg

4oz chèvre cheese

Fruit compote of choice

1. Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Prick the clean potatoes all over with a fork.
2. Rub the potatoes all over with the oil and bake on a baking sheet until they are cooked thoroughly and soft in the center, about 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, remove the leaves of the Swiss chard carefully so they remain large enough to be stuffed (dimensions?). 
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and blanch the leaves quickly for about a minute. Cool the leaves in cold water and wrap in a clean towel to dry and keep moist.
5. Once done, in the blanching water whisk in the lemon juice and 4 Tbsps. of flour.
6. Chop the chard ribs into 1/4 inch cubes. Add them to the lemon water and cook 35-40 minutes, or until very tender. Drain the cooked ribs and pat dry. Set aside.
7. Sauté the onion in 2 Tbsps. of butter. Add the cooked Swiss chard cubes. 
8. Remove the pulp from the baked potatoes and rice it over the onion mixture. Add 2 Tbsps. butter or more along with the salt, pepper, garlic, nutmeg and goat cheese. Mix until homogenous.
9. Wrap an egg-sized lump (2.5oz/70g) of the potato mixture in each cooked Swiss chard leaf (how many does this make?). You may need to use 2 leaves to complete each farcette, depending on their size.
10. Flour each farcette and fry in more butter (how much?) until crisp on both sides. 
11. Serve with a fruit compote of your choice.