Red Swiss Chard
Growing up in the north I never had red Swiss chard, kale, or any of those other greens, it was pretty much just spinach. Since I’ve moved to the south I’ve been exposed to a slew of different types of greens. Memorial Day weekend we went to visit Jerry’s uncle in Beaufort, NC where his wife Julia cooked some truly wonderful meals for us. She grew her own Swiss chard and one day we had sauteed Swiss chard. I bought some red Swiss chard yesterday and prepared it for dinner very similarly to how she made it. Thanks for the idea and lesson on Swiss chard Julia!
1. First I cut the stems and center ribs away from the leaves and then tore the leaves into manageable pieces. Don’t be scared of how big your pile of Swiss chard is, it’s just like spinach in the way it wilts down to nothing, so be generous.
2. I then preheated a pan, lightly drizzled it with olive oil, halved some vine tomatoes, and placed them flat side down on the pan to brown a bit. As they lay on the pan I sprinkled some salt and pepper on them. After a while I would move them around to keep them from sticking to the pan, but I kept the flame big enough to make sure they got browned.
3. Once I felt the tomatoes were softened enough, about 8-10 minutes, I first shaved some garlic into the pan and then piled the Swiss chard on top. I then covered the pan with a lid so the chard would wilt. When the Swiss chard was wilted enough for my taste I threw in some fresh basil from my mini balcony garden, which is doing great by the way, and mixed it all up very well with the tomatoes. By this time the tomatoes were beat down enough where they released a lot of juice and I stirred the Swiss chard in the tomato juice.
4. I had some chicken breast which I marinated in some Italian dressing, a marinade I sometimes use on fish as well, and I put that on the grill. When I cook chicken I’m really particular about not overcooking it so I checked it periodically and took it off the second the chicken was ready to eat.
We enjoyed this simple and delicious meal with some Jasmine rice and a bottle of Bordeaux. The juice from the tomato was a great compliment to the rice and the Swiss chard, high in Vitamin A, is a great substitute for spinach.
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