The other night I picked the last of my Swiss chard from our garden for dinner. It's one of my favorite dark leafy green vegetables. Antioxidant-rich, loaded with vitamins K, A, and C, Swiss chard also provides a healthy dose of magnesium.
Often when we eat it I make simple sauteed greens. This time, however, I wanted to do something different and came up with these two recipes, using the entire leaf.
Although most people throw out the stems, they are delicious and can be cooked in a variety of ways. These are the two recipes I created using all of the Swiss chard. I can't wait to plant more and enjoy this again.
Braised Carrots and Swiss Chard Stems
Ingredients
- ½ onion, diced
- 8 carrots, sliced into ½ inch pieces
- Stems from Swiss chard, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup water
- Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pan melt butter
- Saute onions until starting to turn golden color
- Add carrots and Swiss chard stems
- Stir to coat with butter
- Add water and bring to a boil
- Reduce heat and cover
- Cook until carrots are tender (about 15 minutes)
- Add salt and pepper to taste
Creamed Swiss Chard
Ingredients
- Large bunch of Swiss chard
- ½ cup boiling water
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup organic sour cream
- ½ cup organic whole milk
- sea salt and fresh ground nutmeg to taste
Instructions
- Trim stems from Swiss chard
- Cut leaves into 1” pieces
- Wilt in boiling water until limp
- In a large saucepan melt butter
- Saute onions and garlic until onions start to turn golden color
- Whisk sour cream and milk together
- Pour over onions and heat until just starting to bubble
- Add wilted Swiss chard leaves
- Bring to a boil, stirring frequently
- Reduce heat to just under boiling
- Cook 5-7 minutes until sauce thickens slightly
- Add sea salt and fresh ground nutmeg to taste
