I have this recurring dream. I’m in my old bedroom in the house where I grew up. I’m surprised to find piles and piles of clothes in the cupboards. Clothes I’d never known about – clothes that I could have and should have worn, but inexplicably never did. They’re stale and horrible and full of moths. In the dream I alway wonder if I could clean them and wear them, but I know that it wouldn’t really work. I’ve always interpreted the dream as being about lost opportunities. Career paths I could have taken but chose not to, films I should have made, novels I should have written. Well, the other night I had a dream that we lived in this strange house. Part of it broke away to reveal rooms upon rooms that we hadn’t known were there. And there were kitchens! Lovely kitchens, painted blue-green and butter yellow. Well-equipped kitchens, with large lovely windows. We were delighted! And I’m going to interpret this dream as opportunities yet-to-come, opportunities right before us that we’re just starting to see. Beautiful and dreamy.

And I should probably warn you that we’re in greens season, at the moment, here at The Ordinary. In our CSA box we received kale, chard, spinach, and turnips with lovely perfect leaves. So there will be greens recipes! Every kind you can imagine! Fasten your seatbelts! I was inspired to make this dish because we’re growing chervil. Chervil is lovely. It’s pretty and delicate and fernlike and has a subtle anise/lemon flavor. As I understand it, chervil is one of the fines herbes, along with tarragon, chives and parsley. So I mixed these with some chickpeas, and some greens, and some artichokes and zucchini, and served it with pearl couscous and giant puffy flatbread, which I’ll tell you about after I get a few chores done. This isn’t the prettiest dish you’ve ever eaten, but what it lacks in visual flash, it more than makes up in wonderful flavor.

Here’s Stranger Cole with The Time is Now. He’s my new fave!

2 T olive oil
1 clove garlic – minced
1/4 cup white wine
2 cups chard, washed, boiled in salted water for 5 minutes, then roughly chopped
1 can chickpeas – rinsed and drained
1 zucchini – cut in quarters lengthwise, and then sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
1/2 t red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 cup parsley – washed and roughly chopped
2 t chives – chopped
1 T fresh tarragon – chopped
1 T fresh chervil – chopped
1 T butter (unless you’re vegan!)
1 t lemon juice
1 t honey (optional)
salt and plenty of pepper

Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the chives, red pepper flakes, and garlic, and stir and fry for a few minutes. Add the zucchini and cook till it just starts to brown. Add the white wine. Stir and cook till it’s a bit thickened. Add the chickpeas and artichoke hearts. Stir and cook. Add the chard, parsley and about 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for about 10 minutes, till everything is warmed through and just as brothy as you like it. Add butter, lemon juice, honey, salt, pepper and stir in the tarragon and chervil.

Serve with couscous, if you like.