Who knew Swiss chard might be this good?! The secret’s to slice the chard very thinly and cook dinner it over medium-high warmth till it caramelizes on the perimeters. These greens should not soggy or mushy, no method.
This cooked chard is a bit garlicky, a bit lemony, and severely irresistible. It’s the right fast and wholesome facet dish. The chard shrinks in quantity whereas it cooks, so that you’ll end up consuming extra greens than you notice—your physique will thanks!
I really like that this recipe makes use of leaves and stems, which are sometimes discarded. It’s a good way to supply much less waste and get extra bang in your buck. Because of the stems, the ultimate dish is extra textural, colourful, and fascinating to eat.
In the event you ever discover kale to style too daring, attempt mellow, earthy Swiss chard as an alternative. Historical Romans loved Swiss chard and I’m simply now falling in love with it, due to this fast facet dish. I’m even feeling impressed to plant Swiss chard in our backyard. Strive it, and let me know what you assume!
The way to Cook dinner the Finest Swiss Chard
You’ll discover the total recipe under, however listed below are the keys to cooking actually irresistible Swiss chard.
- Separate the ribs from the greens and thinly slice them each. The trick to slicing the leaves is to stack and roll them right into a cigar-like form earlier than slicing—see my images and the video under for visuals.
- The stems are more durable than the leaves, so we’ll cook dinner the stems first. Cook dinner over medium-high warmth to attain a beautiful, mild char. Add the olive oil and wait till it shimmers earlier than including the stems and salt. Cook dinner till a fork simply pierces by the stems.
- Then, add the greens and stir each 30 seconds till they’re wilted, darkish inexperienced, and turning brown on the perimeters. Don’t stir too actually because these caramelized edges are so tasty!
- Add the garlic and pink pepper flakes (if utilizing). Stir, stir, stir. We’re including the garlic late within the sport so it doesn’t burn.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice and extra salt if wanted. The lemon juice provides an important contact of brightness to those cooked greens.
Watch The way to Cook dinner Swiss Chard
Swiss Chard Choice & Storage Ideas
Any number of Swiss chard will work effectively for this recipe, however the red-stemmed or rainbow-stemmed varieties yield extra visually interesting outcomes. The pops of coloration from the stems are so fairly!
Search for chard leaves which can be stable inexperienced with thick, wholesome stems. Yellowing across the edges of the leaves and splayed stems point out that the chard is rising outdated and shedding taste.
Swiss chard is a hardy inexperienced that can hold for as much as 10 days when saved correctly. Once you deliver Swiss chard house from the shop, take away the twist-tie across the base and make sure the produce bag is open somewhat than tied shut to forestall rot. Retailer the chard within the vegetable drawer on high of the opposite greens so it doesn’t get crushed.
Swiss Chard Serving Recommendations
This recipe affords a superbly nutritious facet serving of greens. Heat sautéed chard is beautiful on cooler days when leafy salads are much less interesting.
The flavors complement quite a lot of meals, from conventional fare like Thanksgiving supper to tacky delights like mac and cheese.
Don’t hesitate to serve these greens with any hearty meal that wants a burst of nutritious greens—I’d love them alongside Mexican dishes like enchiladas. You might substitute lime juice for the lemon if it higher fits your meal.
This sautéed chard recipe shops and reheats effectively. Add the leftovers to your packed lunch, stir them into heat entire grains like farro or quinoa or cooked spaghetti, stuff them into quesadillas or burritos, or fold them into scrambled eggs. They’re so versatile and nutritious!
Extra Wholesome Greens to Take pleasure in
In the event you recognize Swiss chard, you’ll get pleasure from these contemporary recipes. The recipes marked with asterisks may use chard as an alternative of one other inexperienced.
Please let me know the way your Swiss chard seems within the feedback! I hope you discover that you just love chard for those who don’t already.
Sautéed Swiss Chard
This rapidly sautéed Swiss chard is lemony, garlicky, and actually irresistible. The secret’s within the technique. Recipe yields 4 modest facet servings. Cook dinner one other batch in one other skillet if desired.
- To organize the chard: Reduce off the browned bits on the ends of the stems and discard them. Reduce out the thick middle ribs and slice throughout the ribs to make ¼-inch thick items. Preserve these separate from the leaves.
- Stack the remaining greens and roll them up right into a cigar-like form. Slice over the “cigar” as thinly as attainable (⅛″ to ¼″) to make lengthy strands. Shake up the greens and chop throughout them a couple of instances so the strands aren’t so lengthy.
- Warmth a big, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high warmth, then add the olive oil. As soon as the oil is shimmering, add the ribs and the salt. Stir to mix and cook dinner, stirring typically, till the ribs are simply pierced by by a fork, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add all the greens to the pan. Stir till they’re evenly coated in oil, then allow them to cook dinner for about 30 seconds earlier than stirring once more. Proceed stirring in 30-second intervals till the greens are wilted and darkish inexperienced and a few are beginning to flip brown on the perimeters (that is scrumptious). This may take 2 to 4 minutes.
- As soon as the chard is almost finished, add the garlic and pink pepper flakes (if utilizing). Stir to interrupt up the garlic and cook dinner till it’s aromatic, about 30 seconds. Take away the pan from the warmth.
- Stir within the lemon juice. Style and add one other pinch of salt, if desired. Serve every portion with a lemon wedge. Leftovers hold effectively within the fridge, coated, for as much as 4 days. Briefly heat the leftovers within the microwave earlier than serving.
Vitamin
The data proven is an estimate offered by a web-based vitamin calculator. It shouldn’t be thought of an alternative to an expert nutritionist’s recommendation. See our full vitamin disclosure right here.
