So Matt and I tried swiss chard last night.First off, it's beautiful! bright pink and red and white stems amongst dark green leaves. so pretty!
I wasnt sure how to cook it, so i just sauted it in a touch of oil to get the flavor, cooking the stems for a bit prior to adding the leafy bits.
all in all, it was a dissapointment. not so delicious - like a bland spinach. the stalks tasted like boiled celery (however, they did retain a good texture, not stringy, not mushy). also, all the color blanched out of the stalks as they cooked! we ate pale boiled-pink and dark green food. hrm.
does anyone have any suggestions for next time?
the thing about chard is that you should not eat the stems. I mean, maybe some people do, but I find them to be stringy, and like you said, celery-esque. I usually cut or tear the leaves away from the stems and sautee only until they are JUST turning bright green and wilting. You can put some lemon juice, etc on there and have it by itself. Also good in pasta sauces sometimes or as a veggie topping to noodles. Expect it to turn everything pink though!
ReplyDeletethe stems are ok as long as you get them going a little before the leaves. i would recommend sauteing with garlic, a little bit of crushed red pepper and adding some soy sauce at the end. good with brown rice and pan seared tofu.
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