Swiss Chard

Swiss Chard-Sweet Corn Scramble with Cherry Tomatoes and Parmesan

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In Saint Paul, we have a plethora of farmer’s markets.  Naturally the best–or largest– is on Saturday mornings downtown.  And, if you’re hungry, you can have a great breakfast sandwich and a big coffee from Golden’s Deli. But if you don’t have the time or the inclination (it’s crowded), you can go to one of the other markets.

On Thursdays, you can go to the Capitol.  It’s a small market, but is full of the best of the best.  Like tomatoes.

Or Swiss chard, which, if you haven’t had it, is a lot like spinach, but tastier–

Chard has a slightly bitter taste and is used in a variety of cultures around the world, including Arab cuisine.


Fresh young chard can be used raw in salads. Mature chard leaves and stalks are typically cooked (like in pizzoccheri) or sauteed; their bitterness fades with cooking, leaving a refined flavor which is more delicate than that of cooked spinach. Nutritional chart at bottom.

Last Thursday, my friend Kim drove me down to the Capitol for a quick market shop.  As always, I bought way more than I needed, but out of that great bounty came this sweet side… The tomatoes are from my own garden.

 Leftovers?  Heat up a small skillet, add about a half-cup of the chard mixture and let warm through.  Stir in two well-beaten, seasoned eggs and let cook until eggs are done to your liking. Breakfast is served.

Leftovers with eggs for breakfast.

swiss chard-sweet corn scramble with cherry tomatoes+parm


2 large or 4 smaller servings

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Generous pinch crushed red pepper
  • 1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped (Vidalia or Walla Walla)
  • Corn kernels cut from one cooked ear of corn (boiled, grilled,  or microwaved), about 1/2 cup
  • 2-3 cups Swiss chard, chopped finely (greens and stems)
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated, plus a little extra for garnish
  • 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped–plus a few extra for garnish
In a large, deep skillet, heat oil with red pepper over medium-high heat for thirty seconds.  Add onion and corn, stir, and cook 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are just softening.  Stir in chard and season generously with salt and pepper.  Cook for 4-5 minutes or until chard is tender, and has wilted.  Add garlic, Parmesan, and tomatoes. Let cook 1-2 minutes.  Serve hot with a few ounces of rare beef filet, medium-rare pork tenderloin, or with sauteed wild mushrooms stirred into Minnesota wild rice. Garnish with a bit of Parmesan and the rest of the tomatoes. 
  


Swiss Chard, cooked, no salt*
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 84 kJ (20 kcal)
Carbohydrates 4.13 g
– Sugars 1.1 g
– Dietary fiber 2.1 g
Fat 0.08 g
Protein 1.88 g
Water 92.65 g
Vitamin A equiv. 306 μg (38%)
Vitamin A 6124 IU
– beta-carotene 3652 μg (34%)
– lutein and zeaxanthin 11015 μg
Thiamine (vit. B1) 0.034 mg (3%)
Riboflavin (vit. B2) 0.086 mg (7%)
Niacin (vit. B3) 0.36 mg (2%)
Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.163 mg (3%)
Vitamin B6 0.085 mg (7%)
Folate (vit. B9) 9 μg (2%)
Choline 28.7 mg (6%)
Vitamin C 18 mg (22%)
Vitamin E 1.89 mg (13%)
Vitamin K 327.3 μg (312%)
Calcium 58 mg (6%)
Iron 2.26 mg (17%)
Magnesium 86 mg (24%)
Manganese 0.334 mg (16%)
Phosphorus 33 mg (5%)
Potassium 549 mg (12%)
Sodium 179 mg (12%)
Zinc 0.33 mg (3%)
Link to USDA Database entry
Percentages are roughly approximated
using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database

Nutritional content[edit source | editbeta]


All parts of the chard plant contain oxalic acid.Swiss chard is high in vitamins A, K and C, with a 175 g serving containing 214%, 716%, and 53%, respectively, of the recommended daily value.[11] It is also rich in minerals, dietary fiber and protein.[12]                

* courtesy Wikipedia
Sing a new song; cook some fresh chard,
Alyce

38 Power Foods, Week 13 — Swiss Chard — Vinegar-Chard with Apples, Shallots, and Honey

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Not terribly photogenic, but quite delicious.

  I don’t cook Swiss chard a lot, though when I make it, I’m always happy I have and wonder why I don’t make it more often.  It’s a fast side for chops or chicken (chop/saute),  tops rice beautifully, and fills an omelet like nothing else.  Did I mention it’s gorgeous?

Last night, after a long day full of lectionary study, lunch out, children’s music meeting, and grocery shopping, I walked in the door not knowing what in the world I was doing with my Swiss Chard for today’s post.  I also knew I wanted to be all done with dinner in time to watch the convention; I am, if nothing else, a sincere John Kerry fan. (And he was a superhero last night!! Yikes.)  I scouted around the kitchen trying to think what else could go in that pan and what I came up with was luscious–sparky with the apple cider vinegar-red pepper combination and crunchy with the added green apples, shallots, and chard stems.  A nice drizzle of local honey evened out the whole thing.  We ate it with some cold chicken and a slice of German vollkornbrot (whole grain bread) with a bit of sharp cheese.

Once in a while, just for grins, I write a recipe using only photographs and captions.  This is so simple, let’s see if I can accomplish it:

vinegar-chard with apples, shallots, and honey
 makes 4 small servings

                           Cook’s Note:  Wash chard very thoroughly before preparation.
  

Remove stems from 1 bunch of Swiss chard (1 – 1.5#) and slice thinly.  Set aside.  Roll up chard leaves and slice into 1/2″ pieces.

 

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a deep saute pan over medium heat.  Add pinch crushed red pepper, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, and cook one minute.

                

Stir in one minced shallot, reserved chard stems, and 1/2 a chopped Granny Smith apple with skin.
Sprinkle with a generous pinch each of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

Let cook a minute or two, stirring,  until a bit softened.

Toss in chopped chard.  Season with a little more salt and pepper.  Stir.
Cook 2-3 minutes until chard wilts.  Stir in 1 tablespoon each apple cider vinegar and honey (or to taste.)  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Serve hot or at room temperature.  (Optional garnish:  finely chopped pecans)

Low in calories and vitamin-dense (C, K, A, B), Swiss chard comes from the same family as beets and is also called silverbeet.  Full of antioxidants, it’s a cancer-fighter and usable in all of the ways you use spinach. A great addition to your shopping cart, saute pan, or soup pot, with its store of various minerals (including iron) it’s also a nutritional powerhouse.  Young chard makes great salad.  Read more here.

If you like this, you might also like this week’s post on my blog, Dinner Place — Cooking for One:

ratatouille-steamed salmon with jasmine rice and spinach

Could have used young, chopped chard.

I blog with a great group of food writers on Fridays as we cook our way through the list of foods from Whole Living Magazine’s Power Foods:  150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients: 

  Read more about Swiss chard this week at these sites:

Ansh – SpiceRoots.com  
Jill – SaucyCooks 

Sarah – Everything in the Kitchen Sink
Anabanana – adobodownunder.blogspot.com
Alanna –  http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/
.
Join us:

If you’re interested in joining the gang writing each week, get in touch with Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits:  Mireya@MyHealthyEatingHabits.com

~~~~

two-dog kitchen and around the ‘hood

Finches have another brood.  Here parent eats while baby waits above at my kitchen window feeder.

Feed me, fast!

Gorgeous Thai eggplants (1.5″) from the St. Paul farmer’s market–used it in the salmon and ratatouille above.

 Sing a new song,
Alyce