Swiss Chard - Chard belongs to the same family as beets and spinach and shares a similar taste profile: it has the bitterness of beet greens and the slightly salty flavor of spinach leaves. Both the leaves and stalk of chard are edible,. –WF

Nutritional Profile – Healthy. Very.

Storage tips:

• Wrap chard in a damp towel or place in a plastic bag and keep in the hydrator drawer of the fridge.
• Chard is best used fresh, but will keep for 2-4 days if kept moist and refrigerated.
• Chard freezes well. Blanch chopped leaves for 3 minutes, rinse under cold water to stop cooking process, drain or pull out leaves using colander ladle and rinse. Squeeze lightly and place in an airtight container. Date and place in freezer.

Cooking Tips

ü Wash the leaves by swishing in a water bath. Soil and particles will float away.

ü If leaves are large and mature, remove stems to cook separately. Young ender eaves can be cooked whole.

ü Chop leaves and stems diagonally across the leaf. Cut stems into 1-inch chunks and leaves into ribbon like strips. Steam stem pieces 8-10 minutes and leaves 4-6 minutes.

ü Sauté the leaves in garlic butter or with onion.

ü Toss steamed chard leaves with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. For an Asian flavor, toss with toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, and tamari (wheat-free soy sauce).

ü Include chard in stir-fries with different colored and textured veggies. Serve over rice and noodles.

ü For soups, add chard stem chunks 10 minutes and leaves 4-5 minutes before soup is done.

ü Use Swiss chard in any recipe calling for fresh spinach, like quiches, lasagna, omelets, etc.

Recipes

Simply Steamed Chard

I know what it’s like when the chard has been sitting in the fridge for too long and taking up waay too much space when really they’re aren’t any plans for using it. After having the good fortune of “being stuck” with almost a dozen bunches of chard after a few rain days at the farmer’s markets, I became pretty good at using it up quick. This became my favorite.

1. Ripped leaves off stem. Compost stems or ambitiously save for another meal that will require more time.

2. Very lightly steam chard in SMALL amount of water for 7-9 minutes on Low temp.

3. Drain excess water, drizzle with fresh squeezed lemon and fresh garlic. Done. One bunch will feed 1-5 people depending on the preference.

Raw Swiss Chard Pesto

Ok, this is waaaay better than the radish green pesto for those who tried it.

1 small bunch chard

2 cloves garlic

2 slices red onion

2 tablespoons raw cashew butter

Put ingredients in food processor, stems and all, and process. If using cashews instead of butter, add hemp, flax or olive oil to desired thickness. Chard high in sodium so don’t add salt ‘til you’ve tried it. Variation: add raw pumpkin seeds and cumin for a strong anti-parasitic combo.