“This is a lovely and easy dish to enjoy pazı (chard), grown mostly in the northwest, Black Sea, Marmara, Aegean and Mediterranean regions. Its gently tart flavour is delicious here. These large leaves are also used for making pazı sarması (rolled chard leaves with aromatic rice and sometimes with fresh Turkish curd cheese, lor peyniri). On cold days, we enjoy it hot with a dollop of yoghurt and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil on top.” - Özlem Warren

SERVES 4

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 medium red or yellow onion, finely chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (use more if you like it spicy) 

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp double concentrated tomato paste

230g tin chopped tomatoes

450g chard, cleaned, halved lengthways and roughly chopped into 1 cm pieces

85g (scant ½ cup) long-grain rice, rinsed

460ml (scant 2 cups) hot water 

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To serve (optional)

plain yoghurt (or plant-based alternative)

drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a large, wide saucepan over a medium–high heat, add the onion and sauté for 3–4 minutes until starting to soften. Add the chilli, garlic, tomato paste and chopped tomatoes to the pan (save the tin for later), combine well and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped chard and gently combine and wilt over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes. Add the rinsed rice and combine well. 

Rinse the chopped tomato tin with some of the hot water and pour all the liquid into the pan, season with salt and pepper, give it a good stir, then cover and cook for 20–25 minutes over a low–medium heat until the rice and vegetables are cooked. Turn the heat off and leave to rest for 10 minutes, covered.

When the weather is warm, we traditionally eat this dish cold or at room temperature. On cold days, we enjoy it hot with a dollop of yoghurt and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil over.

• Prepare ahead and variations: This dish is great to prepare ahead – in fact, leftovers taste even better the next day as the flavours develop, a characteristic of zeytinyağlı dishes. You can use spinach or large leafy collard greens instead of chard. You can also use bulgur (not gluten-free) or quinoa (gluten-free) instead of rice.

• Serving suggestions: Serve crusty bread or my gluten-free Corn Bread (page 50) on the side to mop up the delicious juices, if you like.

Read Özlem Warren’s Kitchen Confessional here and our cookbook review here

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