ON THE PLATE: Silverbeet is pure gold

I’m at a bit of a loss as to how best to describe these very tasty and ohso- easy to make silverbeet snacks.

I could say they are a crustless quiche, or a savoury muffin, a kind of frittata? Oh well, perhaps I’ll just call them silverbeet nuggets, cos to me they are pure gold, and about the size and shape of a hockey puck.

In some ways, silverbeet is a bit of an old-fashioned vegetable, and one that our parents most likely would have grown in the back yard along with perhaps a fig tree, certainly a lemon tree, and the obligatory few chooks scratching about. There is certainly a growing number of people who are now fully committed to growing more of their own produce, either at home, if not in the back yard, I’ve even seen imaginative mini garden plots as part of the nature strip, or perhaps as part of a community garden, with individual plots, and usually a “share” bed for members to pick from.

This was the source of my silverbeet, but it is also readily available in the supermarket.

I just love the vivid range of colours in the Swiss chard (a relative of silverbeet) – the bright red or yellow stalks, with the deep green wrinkly leaves. The silverbeet I recall my Mum preparing was the plain ol’ dark green variety, with the very broad white stems. I’m sure I can recall Mum stripping the leaves from the stems, cutting the stems into lengths to be floured, egg and milk coated, and dipped in bread crumbs, then pan fried till crisp and golden. She used to call this dish ‘mock whiting’.

There was no fish involved in this thrifty use of all the vegetable!

Silverbeet is a great source of vitamins A, C, B6 and K – the last being an important one for helping your blood to clot apparently. It also contains riboflavin and folate, is rich in minerals such as potassium, which helps to regulate blood pressure, and manganese, which is important for the regulation of brain and nerve function.

If that’s the case I need to eat lots and lots of silverbeet! Some will find the taste a little sharp – almost metallic – but that’s what I love about it; that clean taste that marries well with rich foods such as lamb, pork, cream, soft cheeses such as fetta or ricotta, eggs and the like. Pinenuts, garlic, nutmeg are all great flavour matches for silverbeet.

I love making these little silverbeet pucks – they are great in the lunch box or for a very portable picnic food. I have also made these as mini pies by using filo pastry to line the muffin tins therefore producing a gorgeous crisp yet light pastry outer shell. Leaving out the filo means these are great snack food for anyone who is avoiding gluten.

As an accompaniment to pan fried chicken, gently ‘wilt’ roughly chopped spinach in a small amount of olive oil. Any home grown or store bought silverbeet needs a thorough wash, and by shaking most of the water off the spinach, there will be enough moisture left to assist with cooking the leaves until they are just soft or ‘wilted’. I sometimes add finely chopped garlic, or some chilli flakes for an extra ‘zing’.

Instead of cooking these in individual patty tins, you could make this recipe and bake it in a loaf tin, and serve slices of it for lunch either simply in the lunch box, or jazzed up a little with salad leaves. Either way, silverbeet is pure gold to me!