The Deri Air
A Blog and Farmcast About a Vegetable Farm and Then Some
Swiss Chard
Posted by Deri Farm | Filed under Chard (aka Swiss Chard), Crops
Swiss Chard (aka Chard or Silverbeet) is in the same family a beets. I recently learned that it is often called Swiss Chard to distinguis it from French spinach in catalogs back in the 1800s. Though they are very different plants, the fact is that it can be treated very much like spinach when cooking and are popular substitutes for each other.
During the main summer season, I tend to grow the Bright Lights variety. It gives a variety of colors, tends to be a bit milder and doesn’t bolt (or go to flower.) As the colder weather moves in, I like to grow Fordhook which can handle the cooler temperatures a little better.
Most of the time, we cut and bunch the chard when the leaves are about 6-12 inches. Sometimes, you might see smaller chard added to salad or braising mixes. In fact, at markets you can often buy small chard loose like a salad mix. However it is harvested, it’s a great vegetable…and even seems popular with kids!
Recipes
Most simply, you can cook chard just like you would most any other green. Just chop up the leaves and braise or steam them. I recommend folding the leaves in half lengthwise, then cutting along the stem to separate the leaf and stem. The stem can be chopped up and cooked first, followed by the greens. Being the stem, it is a bit more fibrous and needs a little more cooking than the leaf portion. The consistency of the stem is much like celery, though not stringy.
Otherwise, chard can be used just as you would spinach. Add it to casseroles, soups, omelets. I’ve even heard of some people stuffing the larger leaves like you would stuff cabbage.
Do you have a creative way to cook Swiss Chard? Let me know…
June 18th, 2010 at 7:28 AM
I sauted the garlic scapes, radish and ‘chard’ in a hot pan…..dash of salt and considerable pepper and drizzled vinegar…..yummmmm thanks for the hard work Justin et al
June 18th, 2010 at 5:32 PM
Sounds tasty. I seem to recall sending out a recipe a year or two ago about sauteed radishes. I’ll have to find that recipe again.
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:19 PM
Swiss Chard Bake
Wash, dry and remove stalks (save stalks for salad) chop leaves. Mix one bunch chopped chard with one whisked egg and 1 cup of your favorite cheese. Bake at 350 for 20-25 min.
tonight I used 2 heads of chard, 2 eggs and one cup of cheddar cheese. This fed 4 with everyone begging for more!
June 26th, 2010 at 9:08 AM
I used the following recipe to cook chard and it was very good, though I would definitely cut down on the olive oil and butter (probably in half).
Taken from Allrecipes.com
Sauteed Swiss Chard with Parmesan Cheese
Ingredients
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 1/2 small red onion, diced
* 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste
* 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
* salt to taste (optional)
Directions
1. Melt butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and onion, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chard stems and the white wine. Simmer until the stems begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chard leaves, and cook until wilted. Finally, stir in lemon juice and Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt if needed.
June 29th, 2010 at 11:07 AM
I made this yummy recipe last week. I sauteed my garlic scapes with the greens instead of using garlic cloves. I also used regular polenta because that’s what I had on hand.
Baked Cheese Polenta with Swiss Chard
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups chopped swiss chard, stems &, leaves
cooking spray, for pan
The Polenta
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal or quick-cooking polenta
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat; Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then stir in Swiss chard stems; pour in a couple tablespoons water and cover pan; cook the stems 2 minutes; Remove the cover and mix in the Swiss chard leaves; Cover the pan again and cook until the leaves wilt, about 3 minutes; Remove pan from heat and let cool, uncovered.
2. Preheat the oven to 400°F; spray a 2 1/2-quart shallow baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
3. Combine the chicken broth, water and salt in a medium size saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium-low and SLOWLY drizzle in the cornmeal, WHISKING all the while with a wire whisk.
4. Continue to cook and whisk the polenta until it is the consistency mashed potatoes, about 5 minutes; whisk in 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, the 1 tablespoon butter, and the Mozzarella cheese.
5. Spread HALF of the polenta into the baking dish; Spoon on Swiss chard and distribute it evenly on top of polenta.
6. Spoon on the remaining polenta and spread it out; Sprinkle on the remaining tablespoon of Parmesan cheese (the casserole may be prepared to this point and refrigerated up to 24 hours in advance, bring to room temperature before baking).
7. Bake the polenta for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden on top and sizzling, DO NOT overcook it because you want to retain its creamy interior.