Charutos with spicy tomato broth and garlic oil
In this recipe by Ixta Belfrage, chard leaves are stuffed with a richly spiced lamb filling and cooked in a simple spicy tomato broth. Rolling the cabbage leaves might feel a little fiddly at first, but once you get into the flow you'll find this a simple, satisfying dinner.
Ixta says "Lebanese food is my go-to when I’m in Brazil and I need a break from Brazilian food. My favourite Lebanese restaurant in Rio de Janeiro – Basha – makes the most incredible meat-stuffed cabbage rolls, charutos Libanais (which literally means Lebanese cigars and is the Portuguese name for the dish malfouf). They come swimming in a fragrant tomato broth and are served with pimenta caseira (homemade hot sauce) and a plate of lime to squeeze over, in a beautiful union of Lebanese and Brazilian cuisine. The following recipe is inspired by this dish."
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 250g of rainbow chard, or Swiss chard
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
- 2 limes, halved
Filling
- 400g of lamb mince
- 40g of tomato purée
- 15g of fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 1/2 brown onion, peeled and finely grated (60g)
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated/crushed
- 1/2 tsp medium curry powder
- 1/2 tsp dried mint
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper, about 50 twists
Broth
- 15g of tomato purée, or paste
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
For the garlic oil
- 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
- 50g of salted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp Urfa chilli flakes
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
Method
Put all the filling ingredients into a bowl, mix well and set aside
- 400g of lamb mince
- 40g of tomato purée
- 15g of fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 1/2 brown onion, peeled and finely grated (60g)
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated/crushed
- 1/2 tsp medium curry powder
- 1/2 tsp dried mint
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper, about 50 twists
Fill your kettle to its max and boil. For the broth, whisk 200g of boiling water with the tomato purée and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside
- 15g of tomato purée, or paste
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
To blanch the leaves, hold the bunch of chard by the stalk over a large pan. Pour the rest of the boiling water from the kettle all over the leaves, to soften them and make them easier to roll
- 250g of rainbow chard, or Swiss chard
Cut the stalks off the leaves. Chop 100g of the stalks as finely as possible and mix with the lamb filling. Use the rest of the stalks in another recipe
Clean your surface and lightly grease with olive oil. Lay the leaves flat, rib side up, taking care not to rip them. If the leaves are larger you’ll need just one per roll; if they’re smaller you may need to use two or three overlapping each other
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
Fill each leaf with about 50g of the lamb filling, then fold in the sides and roll them up tightly. You should make about 12 rolls. Place on a tray, seam-side down
Place a 28 cm-wide pan, for which you have a lid, on a high heat Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and once hot, place the chard rolls in the pan, seam side down
Fry for 2½ minutes on each side, so both sides are nicely browned. Pour over the tomato broth and add the whole Scotch bonnet. Turn down the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for 4 minutes
Meanwhile, put all the garlic oil ingredients into a small saucepan on a medium heat. Gently cook for 3 minutes, or until the garlic is soft, golden brown and fragrant (take care not to burn the garlic!)
- 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
- 50g of salted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp Urfa chilli flakes
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
Squeeze the Scotch bonnet into the sauce to release its flavour
Drizzle the rolls with some of the garlic oil, serving the rest on the side. Squeeze over plenty of fresh lime juice, and serve
- 2 limes, halved
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