Category: Chard

I think this was inspired by a photo in Yotam Ottolenghi’s book Plenty but it came about in a great hurry one night when I had cooked chickpeas on hand and a few other things in the crisper and dinner needed to happen soon. Also, my son loves pretty much any dhal or Indian-inspired dish so I added cumin and brown mustard seeds to this dish and sure enough, he loved it. If you have carrots on hand by all means use a couple here if you'd like. ... Read more »

[caption id="attachment_20729" align="aligncenter" width="660"] I actually didn't have leeks for this version and just used 1 1/2 large onions. It was still delicious.[/caption]   For more on this soup see this post. But mostly just make it. If you have cooked (or canned) beans on hand this soup comes together in 20-30 minutes and is a very satisfying one-dish meal.  ... Read more »

I grew up eating these often. My mother made dozens of them to feed the six of us plus whatever guest or exchange student happened to be around. You can use spinach, kale, bok choy greens (not the stems) or beet greens or any combination of greens and you can vary the spices.   The patties are great topped with either sour cream, Greek yogurt or mayo spiked with hot sauce or any kind of tomato jam or sauce. My mother used to serve these with rice and tomato sauce as a complete dinner.  ... Read more »

--Inspired by the Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers   I love panades: stale bread and stewed onions slowly baked with stock and other vegetables and this winter squash version and this one with kale are also fantastic. This one takes quite a while to bake so might be a better weekend dish or prep it in the morning and put in the oven the minute you get home. You can use a combination of shallots and leeks rather than onions if that's what you have and you can use other greens--dinosaur kale is particularly good as well.   Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a side dish... Read more »

  --adapted from Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan   These are simple to make if you have a food processor. It takes 5 minutes to make the batter and a bit longer to fry them but they are so very good. These are enjoyed in Southwest France and I’m sure with variations of herbs and greens, but most typically they are made with chard, parsley and chives. I change up the ratio depending on how much chard I have and how green I want them to be. You can reduce the milk and flour and increase the greens for super green, light pancakes. This recipe makes a lot of pancakes so halve it or make the whole batch and just save some batter for the next day.   They also keep and freeze well and make great snacks. You can experiment with different flours and combinations of flours if you’d like. Half whole wheat flour or whole spelt works well.... Read more »

  This is a bit of an atypical way to cook chard since you cook it for a quite a long time. It is well worth it though—silky and rich.   Wash a large bunch of fresh chard. Separate the leaves from the stems and reserve stems for another use or slice them thinly and use them in  this dish. Cut the leaves into 1-2 inch ribbons. Slice a large onion and begin stewing it and the stems, if using, in some olive oil in a good-sized sauté pan. When the onion has softened a bit add the chard, season with salt and pepper, cover and stew, stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes. The moisture from the leaves and onions should be enough to cook it, slowly, but if it gets too dry you can add just a little water. Remove from heat when the vegetables are silky and tender.   I’ve used this as a pizza topping with some feta, as a pasta sauce or just a side to whatever else I made for dinner. It's also wonderful with eggs.... Read more »

  Chard is a gorgeous, glossy, leafy green that is a workhorse in the kitchen and very nutritious. It's closely related to the beet but is bred for the leaves rather than for the roots. Chard's stems should not be overlooked or discarded. They are substantial and delicious on the their own in a gratin or chopped and used in most anything you're making with the leaves.   A chard frittata with a bit of feta or goat cheese is 15-minute meal that is delicious and elegant. Chard can be used to make pesto, added to soups and Indian dahls towards the end of cooking, or made into vegetable patties.  It's almost always eaten cooked though tender young leaves are delicious raw in salads.   Chard tends to keep quite well in a plastic bag in the refrigerator as long as it doesn't dry out and wilt.... Read more »