Swiss chard is a relatively new veggie to me. I’ve had the great opportunity over the last 2 summers to work for Earthkeeper Farm at our local farmer’s market on many Saturdays. Not only do I get paid in produce (a Real Foodie’s dream come true!), but I also get to learn more about veggies I haven’t been introduced to before. Things like kohlrabi, pattypan squash, heirloom tomato varieties, and rainbow swiss chard. In my experience, new veggies require creativity and/or new recipes in order to enjoy them. After playing it safe with this green leafy vegetable for a while, I decided to branch out. Here’s what I came up with and let me tell you, it was yummy. To re-create it, here’s what you’ll need:
- one bunch of swiss chard, cleaned, stems and leaves chopped up (but separate the leaves and stems)
- 1 1/2 cups of quinoa, soaked and rinsed
- 3 1/4 cups broth, preferably homemade, DIVIDED (see how to make chicken broth here)
- several small green onions, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
- olive oil or butter
- balsamic vinegar
- sucanat or other natural sweetener
- salt/pepper
- parmigiano-reggiano cheese, for topping
1. After properly soaking quinoa (you’ll at least want to soak it for a while or be sure to rinse really well – read more about that HERE), cook in the 3 cups chicken broth (save the last 1/4 to use in the next steps). Place both in pan and once it starts to boil, give it one good stir, put the top on and reduce to low/simmer for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
2. Meanwhile, saute onions, swiss chard stems and garlic in some olive oil (or butter) for about 5 minutes or until it starts to get tender.
3. Add chopped swiss chard leaves, the 1/4 cup broth and put cover on pan. This will help to “steam” the leaves.
4. Saute’/steam until leaves are tender, about 5ish minutes.(Don’t you love how exact I am?) The swiss chard will shrink in size as it cooks down, much how spinach does.
5. Turn heat to low and add a couple of splashes of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and whichever sweetener you are using. Add salt and pepper to taste. Honestly, I just keep tasting it until I like the flavor, so it’s hard for me to tell you how much of these add-ins to use!
6. Spoon quinoa into bowls, top with swiss chard mixture, drizzle a little more olive oil, add some shaved parmesan-reggianno cheese and ENJOY! (And yes, sorry for the horrible pictures – my shaved parmesan pieces were HUGE and took up most of the picture. One can never have too much cheese, right?)
How about you? What do you do with Swiss Chard? Please feel free to comment and leave your favorite swiss chard (or quinoa) recipe below!
*For more info on the health benefits of swiss chard, visit this link: WHFoods: Swiss chard
*Nourished Baby E-book is still on sale for 20% off with the coupon code SUPERMAMA. Click HERE to read more about it!
This recipe was shared at:
Fat Tuesday over at Real Food Forager
Nice post. This looks delicious!
Nice pics…
Interesting twist. I like the idea of using swiss chard. I tried it and was surprised at texture and taste
@norman101 Isn’t fun to try something new? I love swiss chard. Thanks for letting me know you gave it a try.
This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing this at Fill Those Jars Friday. I hope to see back this week!
@TooManyJars Thanks! It IS delicious! I’ll find another recipe to share this week! Thanks for letting me “stop by”, too!