Pured chard in a bowl with carrots naan crostini cucumbers radishes and red wine.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Ottaviano

Creamy, nutty tahini plays beautifully off of Swiss chard’s deeply vegetal minerality, mixed with a one-two punch of garlic and lemon for a spread that’s as tasty as it is nutritious. This is the kind of dish I’ve seen in Lebanon, where seasonal produce gets integrated into menus, but never in the United States. To showcase the seasonality in Arab cuisine, I first introduced this dish at the Culinary Institute of America during its Worlds of Flavors event as part of a rainbow trio with red beet and golden butternut squash mutabbal. I spent anxiety-filled hours convincing myself my dishes were more than “just dips.” But tasting each one side by side, I realized that I was providing a dish that was not only visually stunning but also one with the perfect balance of earthy, sweet, and acidic flavor. This recipe is an exceptionally flavorful play on this hearty green. And really, who couldn’t use an excuse for a few more greens in their diet?

Recipe information

Yield
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

2 bunches green Swiss chard

4 garlic cloves

¼ cup lemon juice (from about 2 lemons), plus more as needed

1 tsp. lemon zest

2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more as needed

¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling

½ cup tahini

1 Tbsp. sumac (optional) for garnish

1 tsp. Aleppo pepper (optional) for garnish

Preparation

Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove the tough ends of the chard stalks and reserve for another use. (It’s okay for some stems to remain.)Rinse the chard and blanch it in boiling water for about 2 minutes or until tender. The leaves should pluck easily from the stalks but still hold together. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Squeeze well with your hands to remove excess water.
Step 2
Chop the chard and add it to a food processor along with the garlic, lemon juice and zest, salt, and oil to make a smooth paste. Blend at medium speed until the leaves form small pesto-like flecks. Drizzle in the tahini and pulse until it’s a uniform pale green color. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Adjust the salt and lemon juice to taste.
Step 3
When ready to serve, scoop the chard mixture onto a serving plate, drizzle it with the oil, and garnish with the sumac and Aleppo pepper.

Cook's note:

This dip can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days before it loses its vibrant color.

Cookbook cover of Arabiyya by Reem Assil.

Reprinted with permission from Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora by Reem Assil. Copyright © 2022. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Buy the full book from Penguin Random House, Bookshop, or Amazon.