Selek Mukli – Crispy Beet Greens (Swiss Red Chard) in Syrup

Here is another unique dish on the Tunisian Rosh Hashanah table – “Selek Mukli”. To me this is THE TASTE of the holiday; as a child I was waiting for this holiday to come, just so I can have a taste of this sweet goodness. …and boy did I taste it…when I started eating it, I couldn’t stop. To this day this dish is the very first holiday leftovers I come to the morning after…

“Selek Mukli” is a special preparation to beet greens that are coated, fried and served crispy with traditional sweet syrup (‘Asal’) on the Jewish New Year. This symbolic dish follows the same concept of representing a sweet and positive beginning, but also features a “play on words” in which the ingredients’ names are used to compliment the wishes for the New Year.

The “play on words” in Selek:

Surprise, surprise the word “Selek” has a double meaning 🙂 Beet in Hebrew is “Selek”; but the meaning of the root word “Selek” also refers to “withdraw” or “go away”. (It feels kind of funny talking about the “root of Selek” 🙂 speaking of double meaning…) In the blessing we ask to withdraw all wrongdoings.

:יהִי רָצֹון מִלְפָנֶיךָ ה’ אֱלֹהֵינּו ואלֹהֵי אֲבֹותֵינּו שְיִסְּתַלְקּו עֲוֹונֹותֵינּו

I’m sure you’ve heard about beet greens and beetroots and their super health powers and outstanding nutrients, but what’s the deal with Swiss Red Chard Vs. Beet Greens Vs. Beet Leaves?

They all come from the same plant family and that’s a good start 🙂 They may differ in size, but they all kind of look the same and they all are good source of healthy nutrition. The main difference is the way they are grown (from root or seeds) and the effect it has on the nutrients that make it to the leaves vs. the root/bulb: In Beet Greens and Swiss Chard which are grown from seeds all health benefits go straight to the leaves. In Beet Leaves that actually grow from the beetroot/bulb, most health benefits go straight to the beetroot.
Make a long story short: If you are only using the leaves and want to get the most, get Swiss Chard or Beet Greens.

You will need:

Swiss Red Chard/Beet Leaves

Eggs

Flour

Canola Oil

For the Asal (Tunisian Syrup):

1 cup Sugar

½-1 freshly squeezed Lemon Juice (about 1 tbsp.)

¾ cup Water

1 drop Rose Extract

Let’s get to work!

Start with the beet greens: just wash them super well so they are clean from sand and anything else… and cut off the tough stalks at the bottom.

Let’s set a little coating station:

This stage can get messy and if you know me, you know I’m not a big fan of messy 🙂 Therefore I find that if you set a little working station, you can get away with extra cleaning later on. Also the beet greens are relatively on the large size, so choosing the right containers will help with an easy coating task.

Find two large containers that will make it easy to dip the beet greens in egg wash and flour. In one container I used 3 eggs for ten large beet greens.

Beat the eggs well. In the other container I put all-purpose flour. Now you can dip and coat away…

Do it one at at a time and use your fingers to make sure the leaf is flat.

We want even coating …start with the egg, dip on both sides and then coat it evenly with the flour.

Frying in semi-deep oil means that you will have to fry on one side and then flip to the other; it also means the level of oil should be about an inch high. Warm the oil on medium high temperature: the temperature of the oil should reach between 350° to 375°, but I just warm the oil on medium-high flame for few good minutes and keep it on medium heat while frying.

My pot is large and wide enough for two leaves at a time, but if you need to fry them one at a time it is more than fine. Frying the beet greens takes only a minute on each side.

Be careful when you put the leaf into the oil, as it might splash a little.

Fry the beet leaves on one side until they are slightly golden and then flip to the other side and fry for another minute or so.

Transfer the fried leaves onto paper towel to get rid of any excess oil. The leaves are super crispy, so handle them gently in order for them not to break.

Making the syrup (‘Asal’):

You can make this before or after, whenever you’d like… The only thing to remember is to apply the syrup while its warm, so if you pre-made it and it cooled down you can always warm it up a bit before brushing it on the leaves.

In a small saucepan combine sugar, lemon juice and water. Cook on medium heat and stir to allow the sugar to dissolve. Bring to a gentle boil. The syrup will start coming together once it starts forming small bubbles. Check for syrup texture between your fingers or on the spatula.

Once the ‘Asal’ is ready and the heat is off, add one drop of rose extract and mix it in. If you’re using EXTRACT don’t be tempted to add any more than one drop… Rose extract is very powerful and even one more drop of it can make you feel like you are eating perfume…