Silverbeet Rolls (Mahshi Selek bi Zeit)
Mahshi selek (stuffed silverbeet recipe) is a hearty meal of rolled chard leaves filled with rice, herbs and vegetables, simmered in a lemony broth. This silverbeet recipe is vegan and gluten free.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 631kcal
Ingredients
Silverbeet Rolls
- 3 bunches Silverbeet
- 3 cups Basmati rice soaked for 10 minutes and then drained.
- 5 medium Tomato finely diced
- 1½ medium Brown onion finely diced
- 3 tablespoon Mint dry or fresh (if using fresh, finely chopped)
- 3 cups Parsley finely chopped
- 3½ tablespoon Olive oil
- 1½ tablespoon Salt or to taste
- 3 teaspoon Black pepper cracked, or to taste
Dressing
- ⅔ cup Lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ⅓ cup Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper cracked, or to taste.
- 1 cup Water OPTIONAL - ** use the remaining juice from the rice filling, to make up a cup or water, if it doesn't make up a cup, add water.
Additionals
- 3 litres Water for softening the chard leaves
Instructions
Silverbeet leaves preparation
- Cut stems off the leaves. Trace out the center vein of the leaves and place these veins into the bottom of the pot which will be used to cook the rolled silverbeet.
- In a separate pot, bring water to a boil (enough to submerge the leaves) and soften for 90 seconds in the water. Drain well by placing the soften leaves into a colander.
Filling preparation
- Wash and pre-soak rice in warm water for 10 minutes. Finely chop up all filling vegetables and herbs.
- Drain rice well and combine all filling ingredients together.
Lemon Dressing Preparation
- In a mixing cup/bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Rolling silverbeet leaves
- Cut silverbeet leaves into 3 or 5 sections, roughly about 10cm (approx 4") long. Place one section of leaf flat and place a line of filling just off centre. Fold sides and roll up. Gently squeeze out excess juice from the roll into the cooking pot and then place the silverbeet roll into it, seam face down. Once one layer of rolls is placed into the pot, pour in some of the lemon dressing over the layer. Repeat until all is rolled up. See video and pro tips.
- If there are any baby silverbeet leaves, place this on top and then place a heavy plate onto the top layer. Pour over approx. 1 cup of juice from the rice**, until the water line is just in line with the bottom of the plate when you press on the plate. Over high heat, bring to a slight boil (approx. 5 -7 minutes) and immediately turn heat to low. Cook until water is reduced to the base layer of stalks. Approx. 25-30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes with lid on and then serve warm.
Video
Notes
💭Pro Tips
Time - making stuffed chard leaves is not a quick recipe, it is best to set aside a couple of hours in the morning or afternoon.
Veins & off cut leaves - placing these into the bottom of the pot ensure the silverbeet rolls do not burn. These are delicious and soft once everything has cooked through.
Baby chard leaves - these can be placed on top of the rolls before the plate is placed on top.
Veins are best traced out through the leaf section rather than the stalk. See video.
Stalk - save the extra stalks for soups or other recipes if there are too many for the bottom layer. Once cut, store them with lemon to avoid them turning brown.
Smaller chard leaves normally have a smaller vein which is malleable, these can be rolled as is or cut in half and rolled, once softened.
Softening chard leaves help to roll them, once softened stack them neatly into a colander. Throwing them into a colander will increase the chances of them ripping.
Tears in leaves can sometimes be present, use smaller pieces of chard leaves to mend by placing these onto the tears and then placing filling on top.
Stuffing should not be overfilled. Use only enough (1-3 tbsp) The rice will swell once cooked.
Squeezing rolls as they are being placed into the pot helps them to stay together and not loosen up.
Bring the pot to a soft boil - it is crucial that the pot is not brought to a hard boil, as this could loosen the rolls.
Let the pot stand for 10 minutes - helps the rolls to hold together firm
If you have extra filling this can be cooked like normal rice or used to make malfouf (stuffed cabbage) or other vegetables such as Lebanese stuffed zucchini.
*Shop for your healthy organic groceries at Thrive Market.
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 631kcal | Carbohydrates: 133g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 5164mg | Potassium: 1507mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 18118IU | Vitamin C: 153mg | Calcium: 262mg | Iron: 9mg