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With a few simple ingredients, you can make this Simple Steamed Swiss Chard. This dish is as tasty as it is beautiful. Garlic, onions, broth, olive oil, salt and pepper can quickly transform these greens into the perfect summer side dish. Plus, we have a special version using the addition of fried bacon right before serving.
Table of Contents
Steamed Swiss Chard Recipe:
Rainbow chard is one of the beautiful sights of summer. I love the vibrant stems that complement the dark green leaves. And, I love that it’s usually readily available at the local farmers’ market.
When preparing Sauteed Swiss Chard, be sure to remove the stems from the leaves and cook them separately. The stems are heartier and will take longer to soften up than the tender, green leaves.
My favorite way to prepare Swiss Chard is with White Beans. (Find that recipe here.) But, it was time to find a new go-to recipe. This one is inspired by a recipe in my Vegetables on the Side cookbook.
Garlic and onions are commonly sauteed with Swiss Chard, but this recipe uses more liquid to steam up the leaves. I chose to use vegetable broth as my liquid; however, dry white white or sherry or chicken broth would also be delicious. Or in a pinch, use water instead.
Want to learn about the health benefits of Swiss Chard? Check out this informative post!
How to Steam Swiss Chard:
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet; add onion and chard stems and cook until softened (about 2 minutes), stirring occasionally. Then, add minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
Add the chard leaves and vegetable broth to the skillet. Cook over medium heat until the leaves are soft and tender, approximately 5 minutes. If the liquid cooks off before the leaves are tender, add a splash more.
Season well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chunks of fried bacon if desired.
For the full recipe for Steamed Swiss Chard, scroll to the bottom of this post.
Notes About Sauteed Swiss Chard:
Swap dry white wine, dry sherry, or chicken broth for vegetable broth if desired in this sauteed Swiss chard recipe.
Green onions or regular white or yellow onions can be used in this rainbow chard recipe.
Add the garlic after sauteing the onions and chard stems. This prevents the garlic from burning and producing yucky off-flavors.
This can easily fit the bill of a clean eating recipe if you are participating in a 30 Day Clean Eating program such as the Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living. To find out more about that, click here. (I receive a small commission for purchases through this link.)
Use organic ingredients and sub regular salt for Pink Himalayan Salt, and omit bacon to make this a clean meal.
For an extra delicious option, serve this as Swiss Chard and Bacon – just add fried bacon bits or chunks over top.
With a few simple ingredients, you can make this Simple Steamed Swiss Chard as tasty as it is beautiful. Garlic, onions, broth, olive oil, salt and pepper can quickly transform these greens into the perfect summer side dish. Plus, we have a special version using the addition of fried bacon right before serving.
Remove stems from chard. Roughly chop leaves, and dice stems. Keep stems separate from the leaves.
Heat the olive oil in large skillet over high heat. Add diced chard stems and onions, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer.
Add the chard leaves and vegetable broth to the skillet, and continue to cook until the leaves are soft and tender for about 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Add diced fried bacon on top, if desired.
Notes
Swap dry white wine, dry sherry, or chicken broth for vegetable broth if desired in this sauteed Swiss chard recipe.
Green onions or regular white or yellow onions can be used in this rainbow chard recipe.
Add the garlic after sauteing the onions and chard stems. This prevents the garlic from burning and producing yucky off-flavors.
For an extra delicious option, serve this as Swiss Chard and Bacon---just add fried bacon bits or chunks over top.
Try our other favorite rainbow chard recipe: Swiss Chard with White Beans.
How do I remove the bitterness from my Swiss chard? Salt. I sauté yellow onions in ghee and then rinse the chard, don't shake off all the water, lay on top of the onions. The water will steam the greens and when they have collapsed into the onions, give a good shake of salt and black pepper, stir and serve.
Chard stems take a little longer to cook than the leaves, but the whole plant is edible and delicious. It's a little bit sweet in the stems (which have a slight celery-like flavor) and pleasantly bitter in the leaves. Some people prefer to remove the stems from the leaves and cook them separately.
Put the stalks in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water for 1-2 minutes, then drain. Put the leaves in a colander and pour over boiling water to wilt. Cool, squeeze dry, then add to the pan with the stalks and pancetta. Cook for 1 minute, then mix into mashed potato.
All chard is Swiss chard; it's just stalk colors and names that vary! The stalks and leaf veins of Swiss chard vary in color from yellow to pink and deep red to white. Chard with red stalks is called Rhubarb, Red, or Ruby Chard.
Swiss chard contains oxalates that may increase urinary oxalate excretion and predispose some individuals to calcium oxalate stones. As a result, anyone with kidney stones should avoid Swiss chard because oxalates may increase symptoms in certain people.
Bring a pot of water to boil on the stove, and add several generous pinches of salt. Add the chopped stems from 3-4 leaves, and cook for 2-4 minutes until they're mostly tender. Place the leaves in the pot, and cover for 1-2 minutes. The leaves should be wilted.
The difference between chard varieties doesn't go much beyond color! Rainbow Swiss chard is merely a grouping of leaves with stalks ranging in color from white to yellow and pink to deep red; ruby chard is sometimes described as having a slightly stronger flavor.
Raw Swiss chard should be kept in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to 3 days. Rinse well in water just before using. Cooked Swiss chard will keep in an air tight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. You can also freeze it for up to 12 months.
Young chard leaves have a sweet taste like spinach, so chard is often used like spinach. Use the small leaves in salads and larger, older leaves cooked. The older leaves are a good substitute for cooked spinach in various recipes.
Wilted greens such as lettuce, kale, and chard can be revived with a cold water bath. Before composting leafy greens that seem to have lost their pep, take a few simple steps to bring them back to life.
Spinach have significantly more Vitamins A than chard. Spinach is an excellent source of Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron. Spinach is a great source of Thiamin, Niacin, Zinc, Phosphorus.
Swiss chard is an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin K and a good source of vitamin C and magnesium. Swiss chard also contains the antioxidants beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Vitamin A plays a significant role in normal formation and maintenance of many organs including the heart, lungs and kidneys.
Health benefits of Swiss chard. Swiss chard is a highly nutritious vegetable. It is a rich source of vitamin K and may help people maintain healthy blood sugar levels and support heart health. It is also commonly known as silverbeet, spinach beet, perpetual spinach, crab beet, and mangold.
Sweetness: From sugar, honey, fruits or otherwise, sweetness will counteract bitter and sour flavours. It can also be used to cut down the heat of a particularly spicy meal. Saltiness: Salt plays two very important roles in flavouring a dish. Firstly, it balances against bitterness.
Chard has a bitter taste when raw because of an acid known as oxalic acid. When cooked, chard's bitter taste and vibrant color tend to diminish. Chard can reach up to 28 inches in height and will produce stems that are white, yellow, orange, or crimson in color.
Introduction: My name is Trent Wehner, I am a talented, brainy, zealous, light, funny, gleaming, attractive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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