CSA goodie: Swiss Chard!!

[Susan]

I am so excited! Today was our first day of collecting organic produce from our CSA farm (see link: http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Forum1/HTML/006904.html for details about a CSA). Since it is early in the season, we got lots of greens (yum!). One beauty that I have always wanted to try is SWISS CHARD! Now my dilemma is what recipe to try with it...help! I've been perusing my cookbooks, the bboard archives, and the CL recipe search. Should I do an easy saute (SandyM, lindrusso, & MPHenderson all posted saute recipes before that are appealing to me), the April '01 veggie lasagna or this recipe that I found in the CL recipe search:

Indian Chicken Curry

Get ready for this classic Indian dish, served over rice.

Ingredients
4 cups sliced Swiss chard (about 12 ounces)
1 pound skinned, boned chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into thin slices
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1 1/3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup sliced baby carrot
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 cups hot cooked long-grain rice
3 tablespoons chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts


Directions
Estimated Total Time: 45 minutes

Steam Swiss chard, covered, 2 minutes or until crisp tender. Drain.

Combine chicken and cornstarch in a small bowl. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion, and stir-fry 2 minutes. Stir in chicken, and cook 4 minutes or until browned. Stir in broth and next 8 ingredients (broth through red pepper); reduce heat to medium. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add Swiss chard, and cook 2 minutes. Serve with rice. Sprinkle peanuts evenly over each serving.

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Any other swiss chard ideas would be welcome too. I probably have enough to do a side dish and one main dish. Thanks for your input, fellow CL bboarders!

~~Susan~~

[ellielk]

Susan, thanks for posting this swiss chard recipe. I made it a couple of years ago with the plan of portioning it out for lunches. My son and his wife came over and said, what smells so good; can we have a taste? There was barely enough left for me to have for dinner that night. Then, I forgot what issue the recipe came out of so I haven't been able to try it again.

The only change that I remember making was to lessen or eliminate the carrot. I find that carrot sometimes adds too much sweetness to dishes for my taste.

[Jeanne G]

Susan, this is one of my favorite recipes for Swiss Chard (which I grow in my garden) I thought I'd wait and see if anyone else can help, but I guess not. There was a thread back last year that has been LOST and I can not open it, but it would give you lots of other ideas. If you need to, email me directly and I'll copy you on several word docs of my own for Swiss Chard (my favorite veggie besides tomatoes in the summmer!)
Chard, Tomato & Cheese Casserole

1 T olive oil
2 bunches Swiss chard, washed, center ribs cut away,
coarsely chopped (about 8 cups) = 25 leaves

3 red(or a combo of green & red) bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups packed grated Reduced Fat Cheddar & Mozzarella
½ C grated Parmesan cheese
3 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
s & p to taste
1 ½ T balsamic vinegar
1-2 cloves garlic, minced


Grease 13 x 9 x 2 inch glass baking dish. Heat ½ T oil in heavy large Dutch oven over high heat. Add chard and sauté until wilted. Transfer chard to coloander and drain well, pressing on chard with back of spoon to release liquid.

Heat remaining ½ T oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add bell peppers and onion and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Mix in chard and toss to combine. Mix in vinegar & garlic. Then mix in half of each cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon into prepared dish. Overlap tomato slices atop vegetable mixture, covering completely. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper. Sprinkle remaining cheeses over. Cover with foil.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake casserole until heated through, about 40 minutes. Uncover; bake until top begins to brown, about 10 minutes more.

8 to 10 Side-Dish Servings

[Susan]

Ellie~ I'm glad to have helped by posting the recipe. I will keep in mind your advice about the carrots.

Jeanne~ I will e-mail you about the other recipes-thanks! The recipe you posted sounds delicious too!

~~Susan~~

[Wendy w]

This looks great Susan!

I made the following recipe the other night which was posted by Anne on the bb last December. This was very easy and tasty. In the future, I would serve this as a brunch entree with a fruit salad.

Jeanne G, I want to try the Chard, Tomato and Cheese casserole too. I copied it awhile ago and so many recipes, so little time!

GREENS & RICOTTA PIE

1 large head Swiss Chard (about 1 ¾ lbs.)
1 T olive oil
1 bunch green onions, sliced ¼ inch thick
½ t salt
¼ t coarsely ground black pepper
2 large eggs (I ended up using 3 eggwhites 1 egg)
2 egg whites
1 container of part skim ricotta cheese
¾ C low-fat milk
½ C shredded Parmesan cheese
2 T cornstarch

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease 9 ½-inch deep glass pie plate.

2. Trim off 2 inches from Swiss Chard Stems; discard stems. Separate stems from leaves; thinly slice stems and coarsely chop leaves.

3. In nonstick 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add sliced stems and cook 4 minutes or until tender and lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add green onions, slat, and pepper, and cook 1 minute. Gradually add chopped leaves and cook, stirring, until wilted and excess moisture evaporates, about 5 minutes.

4. In large bowl, with wire whisk or fork, mix eggs, ricotta, milk, Parmesan, and cornstarch. Stir in Swiss Chard mixture.

5. Transfer mixture to pie plate. Bake pie 40 minutes or until knife inserted 2 inches from center comes out clean. Makes 6 main-dish servings.