thefoodlessprocessed

“Beet tops and true Swiss chard are both widely used in Italy. The former offer a tasty alternative to spinach and are prepared in the same way. Swiss chard, on the other hand, has a sweeeter taste and is larger…When buying Swiss chard, look for brightly colored. almost shiny green leaves, and stems…that snap instead of bend.” (from The Silver Spoon, the 2005 English edition of Il Cucchiaio d’Argento a collective work first published in Italy in 1950).

The varieties of chard one is likely to encounter in the supermarket are green, red and rainbow. They are interchangeable one with another in any recipe.

Most of the ingredients used for this recipe were less processed options: Organic Red Chard, Organic Raisins, Chilli Flakes, Organic Garlic, Apple Juice, Imported Spanish Dry Sherry (aka Jerez or Xérès) PDO and Olive Oil. Click on any link for explanations of why they are considered less processed.

Equipment

• a Cutting Board and Knife
• a Pan to brown the pine nuts in the oven, for example, a metal pie pan
• a large Sauté Pan, for example, an enameled cast iron sauteuse with a black baked-on porcelain enamel interior.
• a Lid for the Sauté Pan
• a Spatula or Wooden Spoon

Ingredients

• 2 pounds (about 900 g) of Organic Red Chard, untrimmed: After removing the tough parts of the stalks, 2 pounds (900 g) of red chard will provide about 10 ounces (280 g) of usable leaves and tender stems.
• 1/3 cup (about 1.5 oz/40 g) of Organic Raisins
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) of Imported Spanish dry Sherry (aka Jerez or Xérès) PDO
• 1 Tablespoon of Pine Nuts, toasted
• 1 teaspoon of Chilli Flakes (aka Crushed Red Pepper)
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/8 cup (30 ml) of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/8 cup (30 ml) of Organic 100% Apple Juice, and a little more to add if the liquid in the pan were to evaporate before the chard has become fully tender
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preparing the Raisins, Pine Nuts and Chard for Cooking

• Soak the raisins in the Sherry for 30 minutes. Drain the raisins, reserving the Sherry, and set them aside.
• Lightly brown the pine nuts in a dry pan in an oven heated to 350 F (180 C). 3-5 minutes is an estimation for the time needed to brown them. Reserve them.
• Strip the leaves from the stalks of the chard, leaving any leaves attached to the slender parts of the stalks if they do not easily detach themselves. Once cooked, these stem parts will become tender. (Coarse parts of the stalks are good additions to a vegetable stock.)
• Rinse the leaves. Do not dry them. Chop them roughly in all directions so that pieces will be easy to eat without cutting.

Making the Chard

• Heat the oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook them together, stirring them about, until the edges of the garlic begin to brown.
• Add the chard and sauté it, stirring it about with a spatula or wooden spoon, until it wilts.
• Add the reserved sherry and the apple juice.
• Lower the heat to medium low. Cover the pan and cook the chard until it is tender. Check the liquid occasionally to make sure it has not totally evaporated. Add a little more apple juice if the bottom of the pan becomes dry. The slender pieces of stem will pierce easily with a paring knife when they are tender. An estimated time for cooking the chard is 15 -20 minutes.
• Once the chard is tender, remove the lid. Add the raisins and cook down the liquid to a syrupy consistency.
• Just before serving, grind black pepper over the chard and sprinkle it with the pine nuts.