Chard
This green is in the same family as spinach and beets! You can use it in similar ways, sauteed, in frittatas, enchiladas, soups, hearty breakfast greens, or cook it on top of pizza! We like chopping it up and eating it with the stem on, but you can also remove the green from the stem and cook each separately to get the stalks a little more tender first!
Storage
Keep in the fridge for a few days, washing right before use. If you want them to last longer, you can wrap them in a damp paper towel. They also freeze well if you blanch, cool, and store in freezer bags for future soups, sautees, etc.
Our Recipes
Chard Saag: if you find yourself with a bunch of chard and/or beet greens and spinach at the end of the week, make a Saag! You can find a bunch of Saag recipes online. We made do with what we had at the farm. We started by heating up canola oil (but could be avocado or coconut oil) and threw in cumin seeds until aromatic and then minced garlic, ginger, and a left over half of a shallot and cooked for about 30 seconds. Then we put in a sliced onion, and a bunch of spices (cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, garam masala) and salt and then began adding a whole bunch of chard leaves (we de stemmed them because our stems were pretty tough and wouldn’t cook down as much) and broccoli leaves little by little as they wilted. We the. Cooked that down for 20-30 minutes until it because a sauce. From there you could add tofu, paneer, meat, hard boil eggs etc and eat with rice/naan/tortilla.
Swiss chard, onion, ricotta pizza- It feels like a good week to make pizza and sit outside to enjoy some sunshine! This is a New York Times recipe that give you a great use of your chard!
This recipe is for 1 pizza, so if you're sharing with a few people, you could double it.
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/4 pounds onions, sliced, 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves, 2 garlic cloves, minced, salt, fresh ground pepper, Chard! de-stemmed , 1 14-inch pizza crust- Trader joes and whole foods sell good ready made crusts!, 3/4 cup ricotta, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, tightly packed, 1 egg yolk
(if you got the mushrooms too, that would probably be awesome on top! Just give them a quick olive oil sauté!
Prep:
Thirty minutes before baking the pizza, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet. Add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until tender and just beginning to color, about 10 minutes. Add the thyme, garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook another 10 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until the onions are golden brown and very sweet and soft. Remove from the heat.
While the onions are cooking, stem and wash the chard leaves, and bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the chard. Blanch for one to two minutes, just until the leaves are tender, and transfer to the ice water. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Alternatively, steam the chard for two to three minutes until wilted, and rinse with cold water. Chop the chard medium-fine.
Roll out the dough, oil a 14-inch pizza pan and dust with cornmeal or semolina. Place the dough on the pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, egg yolk, Parmesan and chard. Spread over the pizza dough in an even layer, leaving a 1-inch border around the rim. Spread the onions over the ricotta mixture.
Place in the hot oven, and bake 10 to 15 minutes until the crust and bits of the onion are nicely browned. Remove from the heat, and serve hot or warm.
Chard frittata: 1 bunch rainbow chard , 1/2 lb mushrooms (optional) , 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons, plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1 red onion, thinly sliced , 4 cloves garlic, Sea salt as needed, 6 eggs , Freshly ground pepper, Pinch cayenne , 3 tablespoons Pecorino Romano or other ages cheese, optional
1. Remove chard stalks from leaves and cut into 1/4-inch pieces. Coarsest chop the leaves.
2. Heat the first tablespoon of oil in a skillet. Add onion and chard stalks, and sauté about 5 minutes until onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook another 4-5 minutes. Stir in chard leaves, sprinkle with salt and cook until leaves are wilted and tender, adding the mushrooms if desired and saute about another 5 minutes. Remove from skillet and let cool.
3. Crack eggs into a bowl. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons olive oil and a sprinkling of both black and cayenne pepper. Best lightly. Stir the chard mixture into the eggs.
4. Pre-heat a clean 10 or 12 inch skillet over medium low heat. Also preheat oven broiler
Pour remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the skillet. After a few seconds, pour in the egg and chard mixture. As the egg sets on the bottom, gently lift the edges so the uncooked egg can flow underneath. Continue to cook until mostly set, but a little runny on top. Sprinkle the cheese, if using, over eggs. Place under broiler 3-4 minutes, until the cheese is golden and eggs are set.
Serve in wedges with a kale salad!
Other Recipes
Chard Saag: https://bojongourmet.com/chard-saag-paneer/