Active Time

　　20 minutes

　　Total Time

　　45 minutes

　　I grew up before the advent of self-serve olive bars. To this California kid, olives were spongy, black (possibly dyed), and used primarily to fit over tiny fingertips for dinnertime entertainment. I didn’t develop a taste for them until I moved here and started shopping at the original olive bars, the bastot (stalls) selling a dozen varieties out of bins: wrinkly, oil-cured Moroccans; purple- blushed kalamatas (imported from Greece); the cracked, flat-green local suri variety. Now it’s hard to imagine a meal without a little bowl of olives for snacking. I like to chop up whatever I have around, spread it on fish, and wrap it in chard before simmering it in a lemony, cilantro-y sauce.

　　

Ingredients

4 servings

　　2 lemons

　　⅓ cup pitted mixed olives, plus 12 whole pitted olives

　　4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　3 cups cilantro leaves, finely chopped (about ¾ cup)

　　4 garlic cloves, finely minced (4 teaspoons)

　　1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

　　5 very large Swiss chard leaves (or more as needed), tough ends trimmed

　　1½ pounds skinless, center-cut white fish fillets, such as halibut or cod

　　1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

　　¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

　　1 small onion, diced

　　1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour

　　1½ cups chicken stock

　　½ cup yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

　　Rice, coucous, or other cooked grain

　　

Step 1

Finely zest and juice both lemons. Reserve the juice and half the zest. In a small bowl, combine the remaining zest with the olives, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, 2 tablespoons of the chopped cilantro leaves, 1 teaspoon garlic, and the red pepper flakes until incorporated.

　　

Step 2

Bring a small pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Use a knife to separate the leaves from the chard stems so you have 2 leaves from each stem. Thinly slice the stems crosswise. Dip the chard leaves in the boiling water for 10 seconds to soften; drain, cool slightly, and pat dry. Cut the fish into 8 equal-sized pieces, season with salt and pepper, and spread 2 teaspoons of the olive mixture on each piece of fish.

　　

Step 3

Place 1 piece of fish on a piece of chard and roll it up; use the extra 2 leaves to patch any parts that need extra wrapping. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender and lightly golden, 8 to 9 minutes. Add the chard stems with the remaining 3 teaspoons garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until absorbed, 1 minute. Add the reserved lemon zest and juice with the stock, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until the liquid thickens and bubbles, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in most of the remaining cilantro.

　　

Step 4

Nestle the fish in the skillet, scatter the tomatoes and whole olives over the fish, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the fish is opaque and the chard can be cut easily, 10 minutes. Serve over the grain of your choice with sauce spooned over the top; garnish with cilantro.

　　Reprinted from Sababa by arrangement with Avery, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2019, Adeena Sussman.Buy the full book from Amazon.