’Tis the season for Swiss chard
Tips to take advantage of the best time of year for this nutritious green
Swiss chard was not on the menu at my house growing up. I remember crunchy iceberg lettuce, and my Lebanese grandmother tucking lemon-scented spinach into hand-held pies called fatayer, but that was about it for leafy greens.
Perhaps because I didn’t grow up with this assertive vegetable, its bright or dark green leafy plumes atop sturdy white or rainbow-coloured stalks, I’ve never rushed to buy it.
For inspiration, I turned to home economist Emily Richards, whose Italian grandmother Ortenzia taught her to love and cook all things green and leafy from an early age.
Richards recalls picking young dandelion leaves along the road in Sault Ste. Marie as she accompanied her nonna to work, and harvesting chard from her grandparents’ big garden for dinner.
“She put chard in everything, soups, stews, pasta with beans, lots of vegetarian-style dishes from Calabria,” says Richards, who’s collected favourite family recipes and stories in her cookbook Per La Famiglia.
The night before, Richards had blanched and sautéed red chard from her own garden in olive oil with garlic and hot pepper flakes, finishing with a drizzle of red wine vinegar.
As for its earthy flavour, Richards sees chard as a step up from spinach, yet not as bitter as rapini. She often substitutes chard for recipes calling for spinach, which comes from the same family.
Though super-nutritious, chard is available year-round from the U.S., now’s the time to buy it locally and freeze extra for winter.
Don’t feel overwhelmed if you arrive home with a huge pile of leaves — they cook down in minutes to almost nothing.
With the help of Richards’ simple recipe, paired with bold flavours like garlic and anchovies, you may even learn to love it.
Buy & Store
It may have been ‘officially’ identified by a Swiss botanist in the 1800s, but Mediterranean cooks have used chard for centuries.
Chard is abundant in local stores and farmers markets, or grow it at home.
Choose fresh, crisp, unblemished leaves.
Though traditional green chard with white ribs is still common, the sweeter rainbow variety with red, yellow and orange stems is gaining ground.
Use immediately or refrigerate, unwashed and loosely wrapped, up to three days.
To save time, wash, pat dry and cut up chard when you get home. Chill in a sealed bag with a damp paper towel up to two days.
Prep
Chard can be gritty, so wash well. Fill a big bowl or sink with cold water and swirl leaves until dirt or sand sinks to the bottom. Carefully remove and shake off excess water.
Remove thick stems and cut leaves crosswise into five cm. pieces.
If stems are thin, sauté with the leaves. If thick, add first and cook longer.
Boil, steam or sauté, with water that clings to leaves after washing, until bright and tender.
Freeze: Richards blanches washed chard in boiling water for two minutes. Rinse in cool water and pat dry. Tear leaves coarsely and freeze leaves and stems in separate zip-lock bags. Use in soups or as a side dish.
Serve
Side dish: Sauté with bacon or pancetta or try a Southern Italian favourite with garlic, currants or raisins, pine nuts and a spritz of vinegar.
Fold steamed or sautéed chard into a frittata, omelette or quiche. Great with cheese!
Add raw or cooked to green or grain salads.
Use chard to bump up the nutrition in soups.