Basic Cooking for Chard, according to Julia (McDonald, not Child)

This leaf is the favorite of those that like the tender quality of spinach with just a little more oomph.  First, strip off the leaf part from the stem!  Sometimes I will further tear the leaves into slightly smaller pieces.

Wilting

I like to start chard in just a little olive oil or bacon drippings and maybe garlic or onion.  After a few minutes the leaves will “green up” and soften. 

Braising

If you want an even more melt-in-your-mouth texture, add liquid to your wilted greens, enough for all the leaves to sit in.  I often use beer for this, but that’s just me.  You can use water or chicken stock or even apple juice if you like a little sweetness.  Heat to a simmering and then cover and lower the heat as much as you can.  Let it cook like this for 10 – 15 minutes, periodically checking to make sure you can still hear the quiet simmering sound.

**If you are REALLY needing to convert someone, add a melting cheese over the chard once you’ve dished it out.  They’ll never again say “I don’t like greens.”

Cooked Chard Salad With Lemon-Caper Vinaigrette

By Mark Bittman

Cook 1 to 1 1/2 pounds trimmed chard in boiling salted water until tender, 2 to 3 minutes, then drain, rinse, squeeze dry and chop. Drizzle with lemon-caper vinaigrette: 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon capers with a drop of their brine and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley.

Cooked Chard Salad With Peanut Vinaigrette

By Mark Bittman

Drizzle with peanut vinaigrette: 1/3 cup peanut oil, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 3 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts and 1 garlic clove. Garnish with 1/4 cup chopped scallions.

Green Soup with Sweet Potatoes

From Yogajournal.com reprinted with permission from Love Soup, by Anna Thomas (Norton and Company, 2009)

2 T olive oil, plus more for garnish
2 yellow onions, chopped
Sea salt
1 ¼ pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
3 ½ cups water
2 -3 T chopped sage leaves
1 bunch kale
1 bunch chard
8 cloves garlic, peeled
3 cups vegetable broth
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh lemon juice

Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium-low heat.  Add the onions and a pinch of salt and stir frequently until the onions are soft and golden brown, 30 – 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the sweet potatoes in a large pot with 3 ½ cups water, ½ teaspoon salt, and the sage.  Bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer, covered, about 10 minutes.

Wash the kale and chard, trim away the tough stems, and chop.  Add to sweet potatoes along with garlic and vegetable broth.  Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.  Add the onions to the soup and let cool slightly.

Puree the mixture in a blender in batches, OR USE A HANDHELD BLENDER OR EMULSIFYING “STICK.”  Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.  To serve, drizzle olive oil over individual bowls of soup.

Swiss Chard Au Gratin

1 pound Swiss chard, washed and stemmed
1/2 pound spinach (or substitute with more chard), washed and stemmed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
3 large eggs
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated gruyère cheese
1 cup cooked basmati brown rice

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you clean the chard and spinach. Fill a bowl with ice water. Strip the leaves from the chard stalks but hold onto the stalks. Wash the leaves in several rinses of water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the chard leaves. Blanch for about two minutes, just until tender. Using a skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer immediately to the ice water. Blanch the spinach for 30 seconds, and transfer to the ice water. Let sit for a few minutes, then drain, squeeze out the water and chop medium-fine.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 2-quart baking or gratin dish with olive oil.
3. Trim both ends off the chard stalks, then dice them. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add the diced chard stalks, thyme, rosemary and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, for about five minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic and stir for a minute or so until fragrant. Add the chard and spinach. Stir together for 30 seconds to a minute, just to blend the mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.

4. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Stir in the chard mixture, cheese and rice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to the baking dish, and drizzle on the remaining oil.

5. Bake 40 minutes until firm and brown on the top. Remove from the heat, and cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. You can serve this warm, at room temperature or cold.
Advance preparation: The blanched greens will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator in a covered bowl. The recipe can be prepared through step 3 up to two days ahead. The finished recipe will keep for three or four days in the refrigerator.

Nutritional information per serving (based on four servings): 260 calories; 16 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 174 milligrams cholesterol; 19 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 389 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during cooking); 14 grams protein
Nutritional information per serving (based on six servings): 173 calories; 11 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 116 milligrams cholesterol; 13 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 259 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during cooking); 9 grams protein

Honey Glazed Carrots and Roasted Chard Stems with Sage Bread Crumbs

3 medium carrots, quartered and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and leaves cut into 2-inch pieces
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
2 oz. baguette (or 2 slices white bread), torn into small pieces
4 sage leaves

1. Roast vegetables: Toss carrots and Swiss chard stems with 1 Tbsp. oil on a large rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast in a preheated 400˚ oven 40 minutes or until carrots are almost tender; toss carrots and chard stems with honey. Top with chard leaves and drizzle with remaining Tbsp. olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Return to oven and roast, tossing once, 5 minutes until leaves are almost wilted. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and toss with vinegar.
2. Make breadcrumbs: While vegetables roast, heat oil in a small skillet over medium. Add bread and sage; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, 5 minutes or until bread is toasted.

Glaze Your Chard Stems!  Dazzle Your Friends!!

Bunch of chard stems, leaves removed (and cooked in some other dish)
2/3 c. honey
6 tbsp. butter

1.  Cook stems in small amount of water until tender, but still firm.  I like to just barely cook them before glazing so that I retain as much of the color as possible. 
2.  Drain off any water in the pan.  Add butter and honey. Simmer slowly until stems are glazed and brown, turning once or twice.

People love when you do this.  It’s a nice accompaniment to curries.  -Julia

* You can use this recipe for carrots, too; just half them and quarter them lengthwise.  And carrots cook longer, of course.

Easy Yummy Swiss Chard Leaves

From Still Life with Menu:

Bunch or two of chard
1 T olive oil
3-5 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
2 T balsamic or red wine vinegar

Trim chard leaves from stems and coarsely chop the leaves.  Heat a wok or large heavy skillet.  When hot, add olive oil and chard.  Stir and cook 2 minutes on high heat.  Add garlic and stir-fry several minutes more, until chard is limp.  Salt and pepper lightly and toss with vinegar.

Chard Cheese Pie Filling

from The New Laurel’s Kitchen
(PLEASE NOTE: Make sure you have 2-3 bunches of chard on hand.)

2 cups cottage cheese
2 eggs, beaten
juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon salt
6 cups lightly cooked and chopped Swiss chard, well drained
½ cup bread crumbs
paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
If you do not want to use a piecrust, generously grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish.  Otherwise, prepare piecrust accordingly (see recipe in archive).
Beat together cottage cheese, eggs, lemon, and salt.  Stir 1 cup of this mixture into the chard and press it into the crust or baking dish.  Spread remaining cottage cheese mixture over the top and sprinkle with bread crumbs and paprika.  Bake until set, about ½ hour.  Let stand several minutes before cutting.  Makes 4-6 servings.

California Stuffed Chard
from Recipes from a Kitchen Garden

Filling:
1 ¼ pounds ground turkey
¼ pound ground pork (consider buying from Crystal at the Lincoln Square Market—her pigs have a nice life!)
1 large garlic clove, chopped
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup chopped chives
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
 2 teaspoons Worcestershire csauce
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup milk

Other Ingredients:
Bunch of chard, stems removed and reserved
2 T butter
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
2 T lemon juice
2 T olive oil
yogurt or sour cream

Mix together meat filling ingredients; set aside.  Immerse chard leaves 4 or 5 at a time into boiling water 2 minutes or until limp.  Remove with slotted spoon and drain well.  Lay chard leaves out flat.  Mound several teaspoons of meat filling in center of each leaf.  Fold sides of leaves over center and roll each leaf into a compact bundle.  Finely chop the chard stems.  Melt butter in large, heavy pot over medium heat.  Add onion and chard stems; sauté until onions are soft, about 5 minutes.  Lay chard bundles over vegetables in pot, add chicken stock and sprinkle with lemon juice.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat to simmer.  Drizzle olive oil over bundles.  Simmer over low heat until filling is done, about 35 minutes. 
Garnish with yogurt or sour cream and, if you have them, chive flowers and lemon slices.
Makes 6-8 servings.

Chard Roll-ups

6 leaves of chard, or so
1 ½ c cooked rice
small onion
drop  oil
¾ c cottage cheese
1 egg
¼  c raisins
¼  c parsley
a few sprigs of fresh herbs, if available, or 1 t ground dill or basil
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350.
Saute all except the chard leaves.
Wash, dry leaves; remove stems.
To make a rollup:  Place a dollop of sauté mixture towards the base of a leaf. 
Create “square pocket,” as illustrated below.
Grease casserole; bake 30 minutes.