Goat Cheese, Lentil and Brown Rice Rolls

This recipe is a bit time consuming, but very flavorful. Honestly, this was my first time cooking with Swiss Chard. If you’ve never had Swiss Chard, it takes similar to spinach. This is a great vegetarian dish that even meat-eaters will enjoy.

Ingredients

Butter, for greasing the baking dish
6 large Swiss chard leaves (about 1 1/4 pounds)
Salt, to taste

For the Filling:

2 cups cooked Brown rice
1 cup Arugula leaves, chopped
8 ounces Goat cheese, at room temperature, use Garlic & Herb goat cheese for even better flavor
1 cup cooked Green lentils
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt, to taste, plus extra for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
2 cloves Garlic, minced
One 26-ounce jar good quality tomato sauce, homemade would be best
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons Olive oil, or Unsalted butter diced into 1/4-inch pieces

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (F). Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

Remove the thick stem from the center of each chard leaf. Cut each leaf in half lengthwise. Trim the ends from the leaves to make each leaf-half about 7 inches long and 5 inches wide.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the chard leaves and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the leaves and rinse with cold water. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

For the filling:

In a medium bowl, mix together the cooked brown rice, arugula, goat cheese, lentils, olive oil, salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and garlic. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Depending on how salty your goat cheese is, you might not need to add additional salt.

Spoon 1/3 cup of the filling onto the end of each chard leaf and roll up like a jellyroll, tucking in the sides if possible.

Spoon 1 cup tomato sauce on the bottom of the prepared pan. Arrange the rolls, seam-side down, in a single layer on top of the sauce. Spoon the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Drizzle with olive oil or dot the top with butter, if using, and bake until the cheese begins to brown and the rolls are heated through, about 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes to let it set and serve.