chard cakes with sorrel sauce

Typically, when I prepare vegetables, I want my children to eat them.  Not the case with these.  I want them all to myself! ​
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Chard Cakes with Sorrel Sauce
from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
​Serves 4 as a starter

“You don’t necessarily have to make the sauce as the cakes work perfectly well accompanied with just a wedge of lemon.  Still, if you choose to make it (and I can’t recommend it enough) you’ll be able to keep it in the fridge for a day or two and serve it with a million other things – roasted root vegetables, hearty lentils, red meat, and oil fish."

Sauce
3 cups sorrel leaves, washed
½ cup Greek yogurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Salt
 
1 ¼ lbs Rainbow chard
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 tbsp olive oil
4 oz kashkaval cheese (sub. Pecorino or Parmagiano), coarsely grated
1 egg
6 tbsp dried white breadcrumbs
¼ tsp salt
Black pepper
Half-and-half vegetable oil and olive oil for frying
 
To make the sauce.  Place all the ingredients in a food processor or a blender and blitz to a fine bright-green sauce.  Taste and adjust the amount of salt.  Keep in the fridge until needed.
Cut the stalks from the green chard leaves.  Bring a large pan of water to the boil.  Add the stalks and simmer for 4 minutes.  Then add the leaves, stir and continue simmering for 3 minutes.  Drain the chard and allow to cool down slightly.  Once cool enough to handle, squeeze as much water out of the chard as possible.  You need to use both hands and be quite forceful to do this.  Next, chop the leaves and stalks roughly and put in a mixing bowl.

In a small pan fry the pine nuts in the tablespoon of olive oil for 1 minute, or until light brown (watch out; they darken in seconds).  Add the nuts and oil to the chard, followed by the cheese, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, and some pepper.  If the mix is very soft and sticky you might need to add more crumbs.

Pour enough frying oil into a frying pan to come ¼ inch up the sides.  Shape the chard mix into eight patties that are roughly 2 inches in diameter and 5/8 inch thick.  Fry them for about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.  Transfer onto paper towels to absorb the oil.  Serve warm or at room temperature, with the sauce on the side.