Friday, July 29, 2011

rescuing chard

I picked up the most gorgeous bunch of chard at the Farmer's Market . . . nearly two weeks ago! Bad! It was looking a little worse for the wear when I finally unearthed it from my produce drawer last night, but never fear -- cooking greens seems to hide a lot of those cosmetic blemishes, anyhow. :) I turned to an old favorite of mine: Swiss Chard with Chickpeas and Couscous:

Yum! I love this dish's simplicity, but also surprises in the pine nuts and raisins. (Yes, raisins do sound weird with greens, but it's surprisingly good! Try it.) Note that I do make a few changes from the original recipe: I cut the oil down to just a teaspoon or two, (otherwise, I find the finished greens a little too "glossy" for my palate,) and definitely cut the salt down -- I add just a pinch or two, instead of the full amount the recipe calls for. I also add a few pinches of red pepper flakes with the garlic, and a splash of red wine vinegar or lemon juice near the end -- brightens things up a bit. :) And definitely use whole-wheat couscous -- I swear I can't tell the difference!

What are your favorite uses for chard? I believe it has earned its place as my favorite cooked green . . . how about you?

3 comments:

tweal said...

I absolutely love chard, it is one of my favourite cooked greens (spinach is my very fav). I like to saute greens with a bit of garlic, onion, s&p, and oil, then just eat on its own or with tahini sauce. I also like adding cooked greens to pasta sauce.

So hungry right now....

Eileen said...

Chard! This looks great, even with the raisins! (Then again, I had a piece of pizza with raisins, apricots, cilantro, and chicken the other day--clearly I can do fruit plus savory business.)

Isn't it great how long hardy greens last? I tend to use mine gradually, adding handfuls to practically everything I cook, and then use the stems for veg stock or saute them with garlic. Yay!

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't call chard my favorite green, but I do love it! Rainbow chard is just so beautiful :-) I like it any old way, but one of my faves is to use the big leaves as a "wrap" for hummus and veggies and all sorts of deliciousness. Also really good just simply sauteed with garlic and a splash of lemon juice...yum! Now I want some chard :-)

Courtney