Some dishes welcome the chard leaves but not the stems, some do both, but I tend to have bags of chard stems in the fridge. . . .for quite some time often. I just unearthed a bag of rainbow chard stems and found them perfectly fine. The ends had browned a little but nothing a little trim couldn’t fix. Their color alone whets the appetite but made into a hash with leeks (also forgiving and also yellowing a bit), potatoes and leftover hot dogs (from yesterday’s bbq) they make a perfectly satisfying dinner. Since it was just my 8-year-old and me for dinner tonight we didn’t even need an egg on top. One dish; the fridge is a bit tidier; and we’re both full.
Hash with Whatever You’ve Got . . .
in this case:
Olive oil
2 big leeks, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced into half rounds
4-5 medium, firm fleshed potatoes, scrubbed and cut into small dice or chunks
about 15 chard stems, washed and thinly sliced
4 leftover hot dogs (please don’t feel the need to create leftover hot dogs to make this:)! or use whatever leftover meat you might have or no meat at all
Salt
Green sauce (optional–see below)
Fried or poached egg (optional but lovely especially if you don’t have leftover meat)
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in the largest skillet you have over medium-high heat. Add the leeks and chard stems and a few pinches of salt. Saute over fairly high heat for a few minutes until softening. Add the potatoes and a bit more salt and mix well. Continue cooking until the potatoes are browning and tender. Add the leftover meat, if using, and warm through. Top with the green sauce (below) or with any kind of salsa or simply fresh parsley or cilantro or any other herb.
Green Sauce . . . with what I happened to have
Small bunch parsley, washed and finely chopped
1/2 small bunch cilantro, washed and finely chopped
Handful mint leaves, washed and finely chopped
1 big stalk green garlic, trimmed and minced (green part too since it was nice and tender)
Small piece of shallot, minced (use any kind of onion or green onion or skip)
About 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice (vinegar would be fine too)
About 1/3 cup olive oil
Salt to taste
Mix everything together well and taste and adjust seasoning with salt and or lemon juice or vinegar. This sauce is good on most anything . . .
Richard Daniels says:
I enjoyed the chard blog. I love chard, stems and all. I was thinking about julienne the stems lengthways, steam and use like spaghetti. I done that with zucchini, using a mandolin to julienne them using mostly the skin. Steam them lightly and put sauce and cheese on top.
cookwithwhatyouhave says:
That sounds like a great idea Richard!