For months now I’ve been looking for a swiss chard recipe that really makes the most of its earthy, iron-rich flavor, spinach-like texture, and preserves the vibrant color. I have found an excellent one. This showcases the swiss chard by standing up to its strong green flavor with other loud flavors. Rather than simply masking the taste, the recipe brings more out! And my swiss chard seems to bellow, picked this morning, grown gorgeous and organically, and cooked swiftly for our supper tonight! So stunning.

This is adapted from Simply in Season.

Ingredients:

1 pound swiss chard (rainbow is best for this dish)

1 medium onion

1 Tbsp. olive oil and/or butter

1 1/2 tsp. honey

1 large garlic clove

1/4 cup raisins (craisins, golden and/or black raisins work equally well)

3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Salt, pepper

Directions:

1. Chop stems off leaves, cutting them in small diagonal pieces. Rinse, set aside.

2. Pile half the leaves on top of each other, roll tightly, and slice in about 1” strips. Repeat with the second half. Put into a colander and rinse. Spin or pat dry.

3. Dice the onion.

4. Heat olive oil in a large skillet until it shimmers, toss in the diced onion and cook on med-high, about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft.

5. Mince the garlic clove.

6. Add the chard stems, vinegar, raisins, honey, and salt and pepper to taste to the sautéed onion. Cover and cook about 8 minutes.

7. Dump all the chard leaves onto the stem mixture, not stirring them in, cover and cook 2 more minutes.

8. Toss gently to mix and serve. Check for final seasoning.

This is especially delicious served with something rich, like mashed potatoes and a roast because the acidity and astringency of the greens balances more fat-filled dishes.

13 Sep This entry was published on September 13, 2012 at 9:09 pm. It’s filed under Autumn, Light Bites, Side Dishes, Summer and tagged greens, honey, savory, side dish, sweet, swiss chard, vinegar. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.