Sautéed Swiss Chard

[underused]

There are certain things we plant in the garden because they're an easy win. If the tomatoes get a fungus*, we'll still have five radishes a day. If the parsnips fall to cutworms, our beets never waver. And we can always count on Swiss chard.

Chard is brilliant for lots of reasons. It's pest resistant and doesn't mind a chilly or dry weather. If you're impatient, you can harvest it young; if you procrastinate, it still tastes good when it's mature. This year we planted a rainbow variety and it's beautiful enough to be an ornamental. It also produces multiple crops--for every leaf you pick, another comes up.

It's good to have a fast (and delicious way) to cook a lot of it quickly.

INGREDIENTS

about 10 large leaves Swiss chard (with stems)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter/bacon fat/oil
a lemon/lemon juice
Worcestershire or Maggi sauce
salt/pepper

Chop the chard stems into quarter- or half-inch pieces. Slice or tear the leaves into slightly larger pieces than you would for a salad.

In a sauté pan on medium-high, heat your butter, fat, or oil. Add the minced garlic and let it cook for a minute or so.

Throw in your chard stems and stir to coat with the fat. Cook for another minute or so.

Now throw in all the chard leaves and cover your pan. (It's ok if it's a bit packed in--it'll shrink very quicly.) After a minute, stir things around and put the lid back on.

Allow all to steam for 6-8 mins. Remove from heat and take off the lid. Add a splash of seasoning sauce, a squeeze or two of lemon, and salt and pepper to taste.

DONE.


*Yes, one year we lost 15 huge tomato plants to a fungus that killed them all in two days. It sucked.

Comments

[underused]

"a basic early-to-mid-twentieth century white American approach to making vegetables palatable" - haha, yes!

I have these great local community group recipe books and they are filled with cream-sauced, cheesed, and breadcrumbed vegetables. And always always nutmeg! Though I've never understood exactly what magical essence nutmeg adds to these things.