SWISS CHARD

A few people have asked me about Swiss chard so I thought I'd give you some information on it and a couple of recipes.  I never tried Swiss chard before I went to the farm.  I'm not the type of person who will pick up some strange veggie in the supermarket.  But when it came in our share I decided to try it.

 The Swiss chard we got looks a lot like this picture.  It reminds me of rhubarb.  But unlike rhubarb it can have red, white or yellow stems.  Rhubarb leaves are poisonous, but Swiss chard is not.

Swiss chard is in the spinach family.  It's a little more bitter than spinach, but when it is cooked the flavor mellows somewhat.

This is the way I usually make my Swiss chard:

Simple Swiss Chard

Prep time:  10 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Servings:  2

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 large red onion diced (or 4 cloves of garlic minced)

1 bunch Swiss chard, stalks discarded, leaves cut into wide ribbons

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Stir in the onion or garlic (or both) and cook until tender, about 2 minutes.  Add the Swiss chard and balsamic vinegar.  Cook and stir until the chard is wilted and tender, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Here is another recipe.  I found it on Cooks.com.  I can't vouch for it because I am making it tonight for the first time.  But it sounds easy and good.

Braised Swiss Chard

Ingredients:

1 bunch Swiss chard

3 tablespoons virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small can of tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Clean Swiss chard with water.  Cut off stems.  Do not dry leaves, allow moisture to remain after washing.

In a skillet, braise the garlic in the olive oil until golden.  Add Swiss chard, braise until wilted.  Add tomato sauce.

Cook for 10 minutes over low heat.

Salt and pepper to taste.

I'll let you know how this turns out.  Oh, by the way, the stems are edible, but they will never get as tender as the leaves, so I just discard them.