It’s Fast and Abstinence Friday again, so time to bust out one of my favourite vegetarian recipes. I cannot stress enough how easy and how delicious this is. Once again, I struggle with the “denial” part because this is just so supremely good. And it’s leafy greens. You’re totally supposed to eat leafy greens. And… shhh!…. it’s VEGAN.

The origins of this recipe were in Vegetarian Times, but I’ve been making it so long that I’m not sure how far I’ve strayed from the original recipe. But that’s the joy of cooking. Be inspired. Try it and see what happens.

And trust me: yummy things happen.

To the method!

Chop your Swiss Chard, stems and all. Heat some oil (I use either olive, coconut, or grapeseed) in a frying pan and when it’s hot, add the chopped stems (they’ll take longer, so add just the stems first).

While the stems start to cook, prepare the sauce. OK. Pay attention here because if you blink, you might miss this – it’s that easy.

In a bowl, add some sesame tahini, some lemon juice, a few cloves of minced garlic (or roasted mashed…even better), salt and pepper. Mixmixmix until it’s smooth. You’re done. You could heat the sauce in a microwave if you wanted, but I don’t bother. Note: If you heat it, you might need to add a bit more liquid (oil or even just water) because the sauce will thicken.

When the stems are softened, add the leafy part. Toss to get a bit of oil on the leaves. When they’re wilted, you’re ready to plate.

Put the sauteed chard on a plate, pour the sauce on top, and you’re done.

If you wanted to make it more robust, you could serve it with a grain like farro or quinoa (I mean, I don’t like quinoa… but lots of people do), or pasta. I’ve also added chick peas.

If you want to serve it to guests, you could sprinkle pine nuts or sunflower seeds on top of the plated dish. They’ll be impressed either way.