Swiss Chard
In order to distinguish this vegetable from French spinach varieties, it was given the name 'Swiss Chard' by 19th century seed catalog publishers. Nevertheless, the earliest references to Swiss Chard can be found in Sicily. A relative of spinach and beets, it shares a lot of the health benefits that those veggies offer, including high concentrations of Vitamins A, K and C, as well as fiber and protein. In fact, some people refer to it as the 'King of All Vegetables' due to its nutritional content, eating even broccoli and its cousin spinach! Now is the time to add this important vegetable to your table!
Swiss Chard Recipes in this Section:
Swiss Chard and Mushroom Galette
Whole Wheat Dough
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup (1½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Galette
1 cup ricotta
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 oz. maitake mushrooms, torn, and/or crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 bunch large Swiss chard, ribs and stems removed, leaves cut into bite-size pieces
All-purpose flour (for parchment)
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup mixed fresh tender herbs (such as flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, dill, and/or chives)
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Flaky sea salt
Whole wheat dough
Pulse all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining.
Transfer mixture to a large bowl; drizzle with vinegar and ¼ cup ice water. Mix with a fork, adding more ice water by the tablespoonful if needed, just until a shaggy dough comes together; lightly knead until no dry spots remain (do not overwork). Pat into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 2 hours.
DO AHEAD: Dough can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Galette
Preheat oven to 400°. Season ricotta with kosher salt and pepper; set aside.
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; season with kosher salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in same skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add half of chard, season with kosher salt and pepper, and cook, tossing, until slightly wilted. Add remaining chard and cook, tossing occasionally, until completely wilted, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Roll out dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment to a 14” round about ⅛” thick. Transfer on parchment to a baking sheet. Spread three-fourths of ricotta over dough, leaving a 1½” border. Top with reserved chard, then mushrooms. Dollop remaining ricotta over vegetables. Bring edges of dough up and over filling, overlapping as needed, to create a 1½” border; brush with egg. Bake galette, rotating once, until crust is golden brown and cooked through, 35–40 minutes. Let cool slightly on baking sheet.
Toss herbs with lemon juice and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl; season with pepper. Top galette with herbs, zest, and sea salt.
Sauteed Swiss Chard and Skiitake Mushrooms
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 ounces of shiitake mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 large bunches of Swiss chard (about 1 1/2 pounds total), rinsed, patted dry, large ribs removed, leaves roughly chopped
Sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese
In a large stick-free sauté pan melt the butter on medium-high heat. Stir in the sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt (skip added salt if using salted butter).
Once the mushrooms are beginning to brown and have given off some water, add the chopped chard leaves to the pan and toss with the mushrooms. (You may have to stagger in the adding of the chard leaves, as not to overwhelm the pan.)
Once the chard leaves have wilted, remove from heat and cover the pan. Let the chard leaves steam in their residual heat for a couple minutes.
Place chard and mushrooms in a serving dish. Sprinkle generously with grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.
Garlicky Swiss Chard and Chickpeas
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 bunches Swiss chard, center stems cut out and discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 medium shallots, finely chopped (about ½ cup)6 medium garlic cloves, minced
15.5 ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ cup crumbled feta cheese, optional
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add half of hte chard and cook, 1 to 2 minutes. When the first half has wilted, add the remaining chard. When all of the chard is wilted, add the chicken broth. Cover the skillet and cook the chard until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the chard through a fine sieve (strainer) and set it aside.
Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until they are softened, about 2 minutes. Add the chard and chickpeas and cook until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Drizzle the lemon juice over the mixture and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle cheese on top just before serving, if desired.