Chard Pockets

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't getting my hopes up about this recipe. When I made myself an omelette with the chard the other morning I was pretty disappointed. It had a very earthy taste, and by earthy I mean it tasted like dirt. Dirt with a bit of grass, maybe. I think I just under-cooked it. In any case, I wasn't going to waste the crazy amount of chard I had leftover from the stew, and it's chock full of vitamins and minerals, so I decided to go ahead with the recipe I had put together inspired by a Swiss Chard Pie I stumbled upon over at Chocolate & Zucchini.

The pie looked interesting, but I wanted to make individual servings with leftovers that would be easy to freeze and reheat. I read through a calzone recipe and applied the technique to the pie recipe to make Chard Pockets. I like to make my own dough, but I'm sure you could use store-bought pizza dough. For the filling, I pretty much based it on Clotilde's but made a few changes. Apparently the secret to this leafy vegetable is to cook the hell out of it and don't be shy with the seasonings. Adding creamy ricotta, sharp Parmesan, chewy raisins, and crunchy pine nuts are exactly what it takes to turn this bitter, earthy-flavored green into a savory delight. Add a crisp, golden crust, and this is one hot pocket you won't be able to refuse.

Dough:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water (between 120° and 130°F)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups finely chopped swiss chard
salt and pepper
4 oz part-skim ricotta
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup raisins, soaked in hot water so they plump up
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Combine flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into a ball. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat, cover it in plastic wrap and leave it undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size. Turn the dough back onto the floured surface and gently press the air out with the palm of your hands. Divide into 4 balls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest, for 20 more minutes.

Prepare filling:
Heat olive oil and garlic in a large pot. Add chard and season with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of lemon juice if you have it. Cook until tender. Drain well in a mesh sieve, pressing it with the back of a spoon. In a bowl, combine thoroughly chard, ricotta, Parmesan, raisins, pine nuts, and most of the beaten egg (reserving about a tablespoon to brush on top of the pockets).

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Roll dough balls into thin rounds about 6" in diameter (this requires a bit of patience because the dough is pretty elastic). Divide the filling evenly among the dough rounds, placing the filling on half of each round, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Fold dough over filling and crimp edges. Brush with remaining egg and make a few slits with a sharp knife. Bake until golden, about 10-15 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before sinking your teeth in.

Freeze leftover pockets in heavy-duty zip-top plastic bags. To reheat, wrap frozen pocket in foil and bake at 450°F until thoroughly heated, about 40 minutes (thaw in fridge for a day to make reheating quicker).