Tuesday 28 June 2011

Swiss Chard in cheese sauce

Swiss Chard is a very versatile vegetable - its stems and leaves provide two completely different culinary treats. Here it is, growing...


About 6 -8 stalks will make a meal for one person.


The stalks and leaves, with completely different textures, are used in different ways. The leafy bits can be used just like spinach.


The stalks have a texture not unlike Asparagus, with a taste more akin to beetroot.


I cooked the stalks for a few minutes in boiling water, drained them, and put them into a pyrex dish.


I made a cheesy white sauce and poured it over the cooked Chard, and added a good grind of black pepper.


I then cooked the dish in a hot (180C) oven for about 15 minutes, until the sauce was bubbling and beginning to go brown.


I served my Chard with some cold ham, home-grown beetroot, and bread-and-butter. I did actually eat the green leafy bits of the Chard at the same time, but I  didn't think they looked very photogenic! Fortunately they tasted better than they looked. I found the Chard to be much sweeter than the Perpetual Spinach I ate the other day, which had a rather "metallic" taste - rather iron-ey.

I would think the Chard stalks would also be good stir-fried, though they might benefit from being par-boiled beforehand.

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P.S. Thanks to those of you who contributed advice on how to deal with the apple-tree problem I wrote about yesterday. Sounds like it is a fairly common occurrence - and almost certainly caused by the sudden shift from drought to heavy rainfall. I'm now considering whether investing in a set of surgical instruments is justifiable...

17 comments:

  1. I'm glad you ate the green bits too. As a fan of Swiss chard (especially the rainbow variety) in cheese sauce - I wondered where they had gone! Not that I bake any of it - just pour cheese sauce on them after steaming - leaves, legs and all.

    Lucy

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  2. I've never, ever, ever tried Swiss Chard before but we are growing the rainbow stuff this year. I can't wait to try it because I've heard such rave reviews about it!

    Thanks for the ideas.

    Martin :)

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  3. Great idea Mark - I've only ever had the stalks in soup a la Nigel Slater.

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  4. Hi Mark, my mother always grew Swiss Chard in her garden in Kentucky, and usually made stir fry with it along with a host of other veggies. In fact, I can't recall other recipes she did with it, except just in vegetable soup. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I have really learnt something today. We grow Swiss Chard too, but we only ever eat the green leafy part, I always assumed the stems would be bitter so they end up on the compost heap. Will definitely try your recipe - it looks delicious!

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  6. I typically find the stalks of swiss chard too bitter to eat, but slathered in cheesy sauce and cooking the bitterness out seems like a good idea to me.

    I think the colored variety is even more bitter, but hey, some people like bitterness, right?

    I like to eat my greens in pesto vegetable lasagne. The recipe is in Joy of Cooking. If you don't have a copy, I have a link to it at my website: http://www.mysuburbanhomestead.com/cookbook-review-joy-cooking/

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  7. I'm thinking chard in lasagna, bet it would be good. I usually stir fry.

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  8. That looks yummy. We always eat the stems - added to a stir fry or soups. I also like the chick pea and chard saute in the Plenty book. I blogged about it here: http://funkbunnysgarden.blogspot.com/2011/06/harvest-monday-june-13.html

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  9. Sounds great. We tend to stir fry our ruby chard - throw the stalks in early to get a little more cooking, and add the leaves at the end to just wilt a little.
    Sara

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  10. Most of my chard goes to my rabbit. She loves the stuff!

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  11. I never eat the stalks so I'll have to give this recipe a try.

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  12. Wonderful recipe Mark! Thank you! I will definitely try this with my Golden Chard. Don't you think this casserole would be good: topped with the cooked chard leaves, some grated cheese and bread crumbs, baked till bubbling? I will try for sure!

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  13. Any recipe with the word 'cheese' in it draws my intention! This has to be good.

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  14. Thank you for sharing how you enjoy your chard. Now I have more ideas to prepare them.

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  15. Just found your blog through a comment you left on another blog. You have great pictures (which I always appreciate) and I'm looking forward to reading more about your gardening and cooking. The first time I cooked swiss chard, I cooked the leaves and stems together, but after reading this post, I can see that it makes more sense to cook them separately. Thanks!

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  16. I cook the swiss chard along with spinach, half and half, either in a spinach pie or spinach risotto. I use the stalks finely sliced and the leaves. Well the spinach (and swiss chard) risotto greek style is more greens than rice compared to the italian dish. That's the best picture I found http://kopiaste.org/2008/01/spanakoryzo/ Omit garlic and tomatoes, add lemon juice on the plate. Eat along with feta cheese or kalamata olives for a vegan version. It's a very healthy dish.

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