Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Rainbow Chard

Last week in my CSA share I received a beautiful bunch of rainbow chard.  I often saute kale and collard greens but have never cooked chard before.  I based my recipe on the "Easy Stir-Fried Leafy Greens" recipe from Veganomican but made some modifications.  I also had one lonely kohlrabi from the CSA so I diced that and threw it in with the stems and onions.  You could easily make it without that.
  
Be careful not to overcook the chard leaves - they are more delicate than collards and kale.  I think I overdid them a bit so the texture was a little off but the flavors worked well together.  Feel free to make adjustments to make this dish your own.  I think some red chili flakes might add a nice bit of spice.  We ate the greens as a side dish with corn on the cob and Amy's Bistro Burgers.  They would also be delicious over brown rice or quinoa or with baked tofu.

Rainbow chard from my Living Stones CSA


Sautéed Chard with Kohlrabi


Ingredients:

1 bunch Swiss chard, rinsed well
1 sweet onion, such as Vidalia (I only used half)
2 cloves garlic
1-inch piece of ginger
1 kohlrabi

1 tbsp. sesame oil
Mirin (Japanese cooking wine)
Low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
Brown sugar (just a pinch, optional)


Directions:

1. Cut the stems off the chard.  They sort of resemble celery stalks.  Chop them as you would celery.  Put them in a bowl.  Cut the leaves width-wise into 2-inch strips.  I cut straight across, leaving the ribs.  Set the leaves aside.

2. Dice or cut the onion into strips and add to the bowl with chard stems.

3. Mince the garlic cloves and ginger.  (I used a micro-plane grater for both.)  Add to onions and stems.

4. Cut the leaves off the kohlrabi and cut them in half width-wise.  Set aside with chard leaves.  Peel and dice the kohlrabi into small pieces, taking care to avoid the hard center.  Add to other vegetables. 

5. Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Pour in sesame oil.  When the oil is hot, add all the vegetables except for the leaves.  Saute for a few minutes until they have reached your desired level of tenderness.  I added a little water, covered with a lid, and simmered for a couple of minutes.  

6. Add your chard and kohlrabi leaves to the pan.  Sprinkle with a generous amount of mirin and soy sauce.  Sprinkle with brown sugar if desired.  Stir with tongs so everything is covered.  Cook for maybe 2 minutes, until the leaves are bright green and wilted.  Serve immediately.

Serves 2.




 

2 comments:

  1. Such a lovely leafy green! I definitely don't cook with chard enough... Or more accurately, at all. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  2. I'm pretty sure all I ever did with it was put it in a smoothie...and then never wanted to eat it again. It was much tastier this way.

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