Herbed Lemony Swiss Chard Recipe

Ingredients
2 pounds Swiss chard, washed
1/2 cup low-sodium [vegetable] broth
1 tablespoon minced shallots
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil

Cooking Instructions
1. Slice the chard on the diagonal into 2' pieces.

2. Heat the [vegetable] stock and add the stems of the chard and shallots. Simmer for about 3 minutes and add the chard leaves. Continue to cook until the [vegetable] stock is reduced and the chard is tender, about 5 more minutes.

3. Remove from the heat and toss the chard with the lemon juice and olive oil. Taste and add salt and pepper. Sprinkle with tarragon.

This recipe serves: 4 | Preparation time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 10 minutes

Herbed Lemony Swiss Chard Recipe [Recipe by FoodFit]

Swiss Chard and Caramelized Onion Lasagna

This lasagna is slightly unconventional, but not so much that traditional lasagna lovers won’t love it.

The caramelized onions have a delicious sweetness that is offset by the robustly flavored chard. 12 Servings.

Ingredient List
* 12 oz. dried or 1 lb. fresh lasagna noodles
* 4 Tbs. olive oil
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 2 bunches (about 3 lbs.) red Swiss chard, stemmed, leaves coarsely chopped and blanched
* 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 4 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions
* 1 tsp. sugar
* 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
* 3 cups low-fat milk
* 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4 cups plus 2 Tbs. grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Directions
1. In large pot of boiling salted water, cook noodles until just tender, about 8 minutes for dried and 1 minute for fresh. Drain and rinse under cold water. Spread noodles on clean kitchen towels and cover with plastic wrap.

2. In large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring often, 30 seconds. Add chard and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer chard to medium bowl and stir in ricotta cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

3. Wipe out skillet, heat remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until onions begin to brown all over, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and stir. Cook, stirring, until deep amber in color, about 20 minutes more. Remove from heat and splash with vinegar. Set aside.

4. In medium saucepan, heat 2 1/2 cups milk over medium heat until steaming. Meanwhile, put flour in small bowl and whisk in remaining 1/2 cup milk until smooth; whisk into hot milk mixture and whisk constantly until sauce comes to a simmer and thickens. Continue cooking and stirring for 1 minute. Stir in Asiago or Parmesan cheese until melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13-inch baking dish or coat with nonstick cooking spray. Coat bottom of prepared dish with 1/2 cup of sauce. Line bottom with a single layer of noodles. Spread half the chard over the noodles. Add another layer of noodles, arrange caramelized onions on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread another 1/2 cup sauce over all. Add another layer of noodles, followed by the remaining chard mixture. Finish with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.

6. Lightly oil a large piece of aluminum foil or coat with nonstick cooking spray and use it to tightly cover dish. Bake lasagna for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, or until lightly browned and bubbling. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Swiss Chard and Caramelized Onion Lasagna [Vegetarian Times Issue: December 1, 1998 p.24]

Swiss chard and white bean minestrone

Minestrone is a delicious Italian vegetable soup that can be fancy and complex or laid back and unpretentious, like this recipe. The soup is beefed up here by serving ladles of the hot minestrone over thick and garlicky toasted ciabatta to mop up all the goodness. Serves 4.

2 tbs butter
1 onion, chopped
1 small bunch of Swiss chard (about 350g), finely chopped
1l vegetable stock
400g canned cannellini beans, drained but not rinsed and roughly mashed
4 thick slices of ciabatta
2 garlic cloves, halved
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
finely grated parmesan cheese, to serve
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes to soften. Add the Swiss chard and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until softened. Add the stock and beans and gently bring to the boil. Season with sea salt and black pepper.

Toast the ciabatta until golden on both sides. Rub the bread with the cut side of the garlic, then place each one in a serving bowl. Drizzle each piece of bread with olive oil and ladle over the soup. Sprinkle the parmesan on top and serve immediately.

Next time: It's easy to turn this into a satisfying pasta meal. Simply leave out the stock and add 400g cooked pasta shapes to the pan when you add the beans, season well with sea salt and black pepper and stir in some finely grated parmesan cheese for extra flavour.

Swiss chard and white bean minestrone [via Treehugger]

Swiss Chard

[Chard] has a more delicate taste than spinach and it holds it's shape and colour better in the cooking. You can find regular swiss chard which has a bright red stem or rainbow chard which has red and orange stems.

If you have young chard, by all means cook the stems as well. If the plant is a bit older and the stems are large they can be a bit woody so you should trim them off. With this recipe you can come home from work and have a simple, delicious dinner on the table in less than half an hour.

Ingredients:
1 bunch swiss chard, carefully washed and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic - mashed, chopped or minced - this is entirely to your taste
olive oil
1 can beans, drained and rinsed - use navy, black beans or white kidney beans, also your choice
crusty bread
sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Heat oil in pan. Saute garlic until golden. Add chard the saute over medium heat until tender, about 8 minutes.
2. Add beans and heat through.
3. Toast a couple of slices of bread - if you want, rub a clove of garlic over the toast. Pour the chard and beans on the toast and add salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Of course, you can always soak dry beans over night and then cook them and add to this recipe, but that implies forethought. This is really about getting something nutritious and delicious to the table quickly when you are tired and hungry and are tempted to order take-out. If you can't find chard you can substitute spinach and cook it for less time or kale and cook it for closer to 20 minutes.

Swiss Chard

Mushroom and Swiss Chard Lasagna

For brands of oven-ready lasagna noodles that contain 12 noodles per box, use 3 noodles per layer. For those with 16 noodles, use 4 per layer. Serves 8.

1 lb. Swiss chard, well rinsed, or 16 oz. frozen spinach
2 tsp. olive oil
1 lb. cremini or baby bella mushrooms, quartered
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 26-oz. jar marinara sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 large egg
1 15-oz. container low-fat ricotta cheese
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 8- to 9-oz. pkg. oven-ready lasagna noodles (12 to 16 noodles)
2 cups grated part-skim mozzarella cheese

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Remove stems from Swiss chard leaves; cut stems into 1/2-inch lengths. Cut leaves into 1-inch strips. Add stems to boiling water, cover and cook 3 minutes. Add leaves, cover and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until tender. Drain, rinse under cold water; press out excess moisture.

Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes, or until browned. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring, about 10 seconds. Transfer to bowl, and stir in Swiss chard and 2 cups marinara sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Whisk together egg, ricotta, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in bowl. Put 3 or 4 lasagna noodles in large bowl, and cover with warm water; let soak.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Spread about 1/2 cup marinara sauce in 9x13-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Place 3 or 4 dry noodles over sauce. Cover with 2/3 cup ricotta mixture. Top with 1 1/2 cups Swiss chard mixture. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella. Repeat layering two times.

Lift soaked noodles from water, pat dry and arrange on top of lasagna. Cover with remaining marinara sauce. Tightly cover pan with aluminum foil. (Lasagna can be prepared ahead to this point, and refrigerated up to 2 days.)

Bake 35 minutes, and then uncover. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, about 15 minutes, until noodles are tender. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Mushroom and Swiss Chard Lasagna (Weekly Recipe - April 10, 2007)