Chard/Spinach Stew - Tabikhet Silq/Sabanikh طبيخة ورق السلق / طبيخة السبانخ

Tabikhet Silq is a flavorful stew and a staple of Libyan home cooking. Tabikhet Silq is made with chicken or meat. It can be served with rice, but is most often eaten with bread, which makes Tabikhet Silq an easy one-pot meal. Chard can be replaced with spinach for Tabikhet Sabanikh. Both the Chard and Spinach recipes use a little rice to thickens the stew.

Serves 6

Ingredients
6 portions of chicken/red meat (or omit and add 2 vegetable stock cubes with the spices)

1 chopped large tomato
2 tablespoons chopped onions
1/2 cup short grain rice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup chopped coriander leaves
2/3 garlic cloves
Chard or spinach, roughly chopped

Place the skinned chicken at the bottom, then add the spices, onion, chopped tomato, tomato paste and 1 cup pureed or canned tomato. Stir then leave covered on medium heat for about 15 minutes.

When the chicken has begun to cook and the rest of the ingredients have combined into a sauce, add the rice and mix well (you don't want it all at the bottom).

Whizz the coriander and garlic in the mixer, add it to the pot.

Once the chicken is cooked add the chard (or spinach). Lay the swiss chard leaves on top of each other and chop widthwise into broad strips. Some people like to remove the stems first.

Fill the pot to the brim with chard (or spinach) pressing down. Once the leaves wilt stir to coat in the sauce then leave for 10-15 minutes.

Leave the chicken whole or debone then return to the pot, Serve with bread or noddle rice.

Sufra Dayma!