I have way too much chard right now, which is a nice problem to have I suppose, an abundance problem. I have been getting a lot in my CSA box and it's growing rampantly in the garden at the same time. My fridge is full of chard. I have been sautéeing a lot of chard, garlic and chilli and putting in on pasta, in frittatas, in tarts and generally tucking it into anywhere I can think of to use it up.

I was very excited when I thought of putting in in these potstickers, because they seemed like a really tasty way to use a LOT of chard. And I was right-I put an intimidatingly large pile of greens into my frying pan and it reduced quickly into a fraction of the size.

This recipe does make a lot of potstickers though; each dumpling only holds teeny spoonful of filling. We ate as many as we could for dinner and then I froze the rest (before cooking) for later. These make a great appetizer or party food-they can be made ahead of time and fried at the last minute. But with all those greens in them, I didn't even feel bad when I ate nothing but crispy, golden dumplings. It felt nearly virtuous. Nearly.

spicy garlic paste:

one head of garlic, peeled
two thumb sized pieces of ginger, no need to peel them
4-5 small fresh hot chillis, roughly chopped
a little oil to blend

Place everything in a food processor and blend until a smooth paste forms. Store extra paste in an airtight container in the freezer.

spicy garlic dipping sauce:

1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon spicy garlic paste
1 tbs maple syrup or honey

Stir soy, garlic paste and syrup together.

chard potstickers:

two large bunches chard (or spinach, kale or a combination-use whatever greens are particularly abundant)
one pound ground pork (I used half pork and half ground bison this time-diced shrimp with pork would be great too!)
2 tablespoons spicy garlic paste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
lard or oil for frying
2 packets of store bought wonton wrappers.

Roughly chop the greens and fry them in a little fat over medium-high heat in a large frying pan until they are wilted and reduced in size. Allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, mix ground pork, greens, garlic paste and soy sauce until evenly combined.

Place about two teaspoons of filling onto each wrapper, lightly moisten one side and smooth the two sides together. Place wrappers on a parchment lined baking sheets while making the others.

Fry the potstickers in a pan on medium-high heat in a generous quantity of fat (about 1/4 inch of fat in the pan) until deeply browned on each side.

Serve immediately, garnished with thin slices of green onions, fresh red chillis and spicy garlic dipping sauce.

Photo credits: Tyrel Hiebert