Swiss Chard Is On The Menu

Last night we had Swiss Chard from the garden for the first time this season and it was absolutely amazingly. 

We eat a lot of Swiss Chard fresh out of the garden in the summer.   Like most leafy vegetables, it is full of vitamins and minerals, iron included.  I find the flavor fairly mild and the fresher it is, the better it tastes.  You may find that it makes your teeth feel fuzzy and that they squeak if they rub together: this is because of all the minerals in it.

When cooking Swiss Chard it can be boiled, steamed (our preference) or sautéed.  I’ve never heard of anybody eating it raw but I’m sure people do.  If you wanted to get creative with it, I’ve heard of people using the larger leaves as a substitute for cabbage when making cabbage rolls. 

Last night we steamed it and top it with some Becel, Steve added pepper to his.  Some people, my parents included, like to douse it with vinegar, my dad even goes as far as putting ketchup on it. (I’m not joking.)

This is how much I picked.....

.... and this is what it cooked down to.



I find Swiss Chard pairs well with red meat.  Last night we had one of our favorite summer meals: BBQ Steak, steamed Swiss Chard, sticky rice and beans – yum!

When cooking Swiss Chard, especially if you are not boiling it, you have to clean it very thoroughly.  Because the leaves are not flat, they are quite wrinkly for lack of a better word; they tend to hold a lot of sand and dirt.  If you don’t clean it well, the grit can quickly destroy a wonderful meal.  I try to soak it at least twice; transferring it between the kitchen sinks each time to avoid contaminated the second soak with dirt from the first soak.



Above: Swiss Chard soaking

Right: sand in the sink after soak # 1



Swiss Chard is a lot like spinach but the stocks and leaf veins are thicker and they can be a little tough so it needs to be cooked a little longer than spinach.  You can get different types of Swiss Chard where the stocks and veins are different colors: mainly white, orange or red.  I grow the traditional type with the white stocks.  The white stocks make it easy to distinguish the Swiss Chard from the spinach when it’s in the freezer.

Unlike spinach, Swiss Chard tends to grow back very well and fairly quick.  You also don’t have to worry about it going to seed.  Swiss Chard is a bi-annual plant and only seeds in its second year of growth.  Because of this we are able to eat it throughout the summer and still have a decent amount to blanche and freeze in the fall.

Here's to eating a lot of fresh Swiss Chard in the month(s) to come!