I am not sure exactly how but over the past few years, packed lunches had taken a back seat in our house. Lately though, we started having the feeling that however ‘healthy’ an outside meal is, it cannot take the place of a home cooked, “I know all the ingredients and fat and carb content” meal. So we are back to lunchboxes and I am back to looking at meals beyond sandwiches that pack a nutritional punch.
This flatbread is a union of a stuffed paratha and a pita but the most fitting way to describe it seems to be a stuffed flatbread. It has kale….lots and lots of it, and some sweet potato to hold it together. Speaking of Kale, I might as well confess that me and kale have a bit of a love fest going on right now. Just like the Red Chard, it came into my life much later and I had the same “where were you all this time?” reaction. I knew about its superfood rockstar status and although I had starting using it in smoothies, it had not really made its way into the skillet. Then last week, a friend was telling me how much she loved kale and an idea for a stuffed bread came to mind. I knew I needed something to bind the kale together and immediately thought of a sweet potato. It is actually a very healthy root and although a starch, the high fiber, complex carbohydrates and vitamins A & C make it a fabulous substitute for a potato when taken in moderation.
I promise you, these flatbreads are less of a hassle compared to a stuffed paratha because you can bake four of them at a time on a cookie tray and it does not need the extra oil for cooking. It is very portable and no silverware or messy cleanups after eating. A win-win, right?
A note about the kale – if you are buying them in bunches, please make sure you remove the tough central vein from the leaf before cooking. Any variety of kale works – I have used the darker lacinato here but the curly leaf one will also work just as well.
Come to think of it, you can substitute any green and it will work just fine. The filling also comes together very quickly.
Try it sometime …I am very curious to know if you would like it as much as I do!
Makes 4 flatbreads
For the filling:
10 cups roughly chopped kale, loosely packed (about 2 bunches) – You can use the one that comes in large bags that is already pre-cut and washed.
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and grated (about 2 cups, loosely packed)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup cooked chickpeas (optional)
1/8 cup pumpkin seeds
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste
For the Covering:
1 cup 100% whole wheat flour
1/3 to 1/2 cup warm water or milk
3/4 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tbsp olive oil
pinch of sugar
3/4 tsp salt
Mix the above ingredients for the covering in a large bowl to make a soft but not sticky dough. It should feel a little softer than chapati dough.
Coat the dough with some olive oil and keep in a warm place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until it doubles in size.
While the dough is rising, heat the olive oil for the filling in a skillet and add the chopped onion. Once it starts to soften, add the garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes and then add the shredded sweet potato and cook until it softens (this takes only 3-4 minutes).
Add the kale and corainder powder and cook until the kale becomes soft (about 8-10 minutes). Add the chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, lemon juice and crushed red pepper.
Season wth salt and black pepper and keep aside to cool.
Once the dough is done rising, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Make 4 portions of the dough and roll into smooth balls. Divide the filling into 4 portions too (This takes a lot of filling).
Taking one ball of dough at a time (keep the rest covered with a kitchen towel), roll into a circle and add the stuffing. Close and roll again to about a 6-inch circle. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet and repeat for the rest.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes, until it turns dark brown.
