Jazzing up Swiss Chard

I grow Rainbow Swiss Chard in my garden and harvest it about twice a month. While I use it in soups, and sautéed, I mainly like it steamed, sometimes with fresh garlic and butter. What spices or herbs have you used when cooking it simply in a sauté or steaming?

I grow Rainbow Swiss Chard in my garden and harvest it about twice a month. While I use it in soups, and sautéed, I mainly like it steamed, sometimes with fresh garlic and butter. What spices or herbs have you used when cooking it simply in a sauté or steaming?

BACON!!!!!

We often use it in stir-fry with various other vegetables. The earthiness of the chard is interesting with ginger and soy sauce.

Mark Lipton

Oh, I never thought about ginger and soy sauce...I like the idea. Thanks!

Mark Bittman has a recipe somewhere that calls for tahini sauce, garlic and lemon juice, even my teenage daughter likes it

My favorite these days is a simple tomato sauce and Swiss Chard, cooked over low heat for a couple of hours. Great nutrition and very filling.

We tend to throw it into pasta or polenta with Italian sausage. I would think the sausage/chard combo would work on its own.

I grow Rainbow Swiss Chard in my garden and harvest it about twice a month. While I use it in soups, and sautéed, I mainly like it steamed, sometimes with fresh garlic and butter. What spices or herbs have you used when cooking it simply in a sauté or steaming?

Karen, Somewhere on this site is a recipe posted by Howie Hart. It is for "beans and greens" soup, and IIRC he uses chard sometimes as the "green" I have made it several times, and I must say in the bowl, it looks a like the ugly duckling, but it eats like the beautiful swan! I was just thinking that with cooler autumn temperatures coming on, this would be just the thing to have with a Saturday football game. Along with a nice syrah maybe.

Giuliano Bugialli does a Swiss Chard Tortelli, or ravioli. It's in his Parma Cookbook. When he visited my Restaurant we made them for a wine dinner and they are excellent. You could also add bufala ricotta and pumpkin with the chard and top the ravioli with parm. and brown butter.

Another classic idea is to saute with garlic, raisins, and pine nuts. Or any variation of those ingredients.

[Jenise]

Everybody's suggestions sound so good!

I'll throw in another option: the very first swiss chard I ever had was steamed or blanched, then tossed with chunks of hot boiled russet potatoes and bound with just enough bechamel sauce to hold it all together. Doesn't sound so remarkable but believe me, it's one of those combinations where the result is greater than the sum of its parts.

Karen, Swiss chard seems to be one of those things my wife and I forget about until we find an interesting recipe with it as an ingredient, so the following dishes cover a number of years. I can email any of them to you if of any interest.
An Italian dish, a salt cod stew with lots of chard and other veggies over polenta.
A recipe from Mario Batali I found for empanadas with a filling of chard, pine nuts, onion and raisins.
What was called a 'medieval' recipe, chard pie with mozzarella, ricotta and saffron threads.
Lastly sea bass fillets with tomato, bell pepper and chilis etc. wrapped in chard leaves and steamed and served in fish broth with chard as part of the broth.

Chard and potatoes - a very good combo indeed. Just made a chard/potato fritatta last weekend. Had some extra filo and made a chard strudel - garlic/onions/hot pepper saute- mixed with lots of grated parm.
Love it shredded in chicken soup with chenks of chicken a nd carrots. Terrific as a ravioli stuffing or large shell stuffing with balsamella. Gnocchi nudi - naked ravioli in a browned butter sauce or tomato sauce or balsamella. Cooked with ham/onion/garlic as a bed for poached egg.... I LOVE chard

Holy Smokes, what a bounty of ideas for using my Swiss Chard. A couple of nights ago when I did another harvest, I used sesame oil, fresh garlic and lemon juice. Tahini was suggested but I used the sesame oil instead. We do love it in soups, especially with the large barley. Thanks all for the suggestions. I love trying new cooking ideas.

I like it steamed with a bruised clove of garlic, just until it's wilted, then a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar.

John, that is one of my faves....just so good.

Karen, Swiss chard seems to be one of those things my wife and I forget about until we find an interesting recipe with it as an ingredient, so the following dishes cover a number of years. I can email any of them to you if of any interest.
An Italian dish, a salt cod stew with lots of chard and other veggies over polenta.
A recipe from Mario Batali I found for empanadas with a filling of chard, pine nuts, onion and raisins.
What was called a 'medieval' recipe, chard pie with mozzarella, ricotta and saffron threads.
Lastly sea bass fillets with tomato, bell pepper and chilis etc. wrapped in chard leaves and steamed and served in fish broth with chard as part of the broth.

Shel -

Would you mind posting the salt cod stew recipe? I'd like to give that a try.

No prob Mike, have done it as a separate thread.