I was invited to a dinner party once where they serve stuffed chard leaves, just like stuffed cabbage leaves. Man was that good, and elegant. I think I liked it so much because I love chard!

Here's the recipe, it's vegetarian, my friends were veggies but I guess you could alter it to add meat or just use a traditional stuffed cabbage recipe.

Stuffed Chard Leaves from "Laurel's Kitchen" cookbook
Serves 6-8
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients
1 onion choppped
1 TBLSP oil
2 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups lowfat cottage cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup chopped parsley
3/4 cup raisins
1 tsp. dill weed
3/4 tsp. salt
16 large leaves of Swiss Chard

Saute onions in oil. Mix all ingredients except chard.
Wash and dry chard leaves and remove stems, including the fat part of the rib if it extends rigidly into the leaf. Place 2 TBLSP or more of filling on the underside of the leaf, a third of the way from the bottom, fold over the sides of the leaf and roll up into a square packet. Place seam-side down in a greased casserole. Cover and bake for about 30 min. Alternatively, steam the rolls in a steamer basket over boiling water until the leaves are tender, about 20 min.
Can serve with cheese or tomato sauce.

Here's another one from the Laurel's Kitchen cookbook

Chard Cheese Pie
Serves 4-6
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Ingredients
6 cups lightly cooked chard, well drained
2 cups low fat cottage cheese
2 eggs beaten
Juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup whole grain bread crumbs
Paprika

Beat together the cottage cheese, eggs, lemon and salt. Stir a cup of this mixture into the chard and press it down in a well greased 8x8 inch pan. Spread the remaining cottage cheese mixture evenly over the top and sprinkle on the bread crumbs and paprika. Bake about half an hour, or until set. Allow to stand for several minutes before cutting into squares.

Can add 3/4 cup grated swiss cheese to the mixture. Omit lemon if you do that.
Can add a small, chopped sauteed onion.

Whenever I've encountered Chard - it always becomes the "Green" in my 2 parts "Brown" 1 part "Green" compost mix. Blech.

I hope you have better luck with it than I have

Alexa

Funny you should mention chard--we had this last night:

1/2 cup garbanzo beans
one bunch of chard, coarsely chopped (I have no idea what a "bunch of chard" is, but I just estimate what I'll need)
two ripe tomatoes, sliced thinly
1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
salt and pepper to taste
2 tblsp. olive oil

Heat olive oil in a large skillet, add onion and saute until transparent and soft, add garbanzo beans. When beans are heated through, add chard, cover, and cook on low heat until chard wilts. Add tomato slices, remove from heat, cover and let sit for about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste and serve warm or at room temperature.
You know, of course, I'm talking about canned garbanzos and not dried! If you use dried, soak them overnight and cook until tender, following directions on package.

I saute them with garlic, onions, etc. and bake them into a frittata with whatever else I might include such as potatoes and herbs. Or fold the chopped sauteed or steamed leaves into an omelette.

Alexa, I feel that way about kale.

A fellow blogger posted a really cool recipe for Swiss chard ravioli with kabocha squash filling. I haven't made it yet, but it looks to die for

Enjoy,
--Andy

Here is a link that might be useful: Taste of Beirut blog

I like this recipe because the chard isn't overcooked. To my taste, it seems bitter when it's cooked too long.

CHARD AND SAUSAGE SOUP

1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, crumbled
1 Tbs. chopped garlic
1 pound Swiss chard, trimmed and coarsely chopped
4 to 5 cups chicken stock or 3 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) chicken broth
1/2 cup broken (1 inch) pieces capellini or vermicelli pasta
4 slices crusty French or Italian bread, 1/2 inch thick
4 tsp. olive oil
4 tsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat a large saucepot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, stirring and chopping to break up clumps, until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Add chard and broth and bring to boiling. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then bring back to a boil. Add pasta, cover and boil 2-4 minutes or until pasta is done.

Meanwhile, heat broiler. Broil bread slices on cookie sheet about 1 minute per side, until toasted. Drizzle each slice with 1 tsp. oil; sprinkle each with 1 tsp. grated Parmesan.

Divide soup among 4 large soup bowl and top each with prepared toast. Serves 4

LPink, one of our family's oldest Greek friends used to stuff Swiss Chard too. Instead of the traditional grape leaves or cabbage leaves, she'd use Swiss Chard. I've done the same a few times and found them delicious. She also used to make Spanakopita with Swiss Chard rather than Spinach. It, too, was delicious.

Try this -- dice some onion and bacon in similar amount by volume. One or two slices will do a good size bunch of chard. Saute in a pan until onions are translucent and bacon cooked. Melt into the same pan a couple of tablespoons of pepper jelly to make a sauce, then add the sliced/shredded chard and toss to coat. Cover to let it steam a minute or two and toss again. You can eat it just wilted or cook it to a little more tender. The pepper jelly adds some sweet, some sour and a hint of spice. With the savory bacon and onion, what's not to love?

Andy you are killing me with these "darn" blogs!
:)
I love Lebanese food. Those ravioli are out of my league though! As is that little nest of phyllo! Pure food porn!

Perfect timing for me here Teresa. I started picking mine yesterday. I love the stuff.

I did a search and came up with a very tasty and fast recipe. Since the weather turned warm and muggy, I wanted to cook on the grill to keep the house cooler.

Baked/Grilled Pork Chops with Swiss Chard

1 pound Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves washed and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used a no-salt herb seasoning with a dash of salt)
Fresh-ground black pepper
4 pork chops, about 1 inch thick (about 2 pounds in all)
1 1/2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 ounces grated fontina (about 1/2 cup)

Preparation
1. Heat the oven to 450°. Oil a 7 1/2-by-11 1/2-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, toss the Swiss chard with 1 tablespoon of the oil, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Put the chard in the baking dish.

2. Rub the pork chops with 1 tablespoon of the oil, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Put the pork chops on top of the Swiss chard. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon oil over the chard, around the pork chops. Sprinkle the Parmesan and fontina over the chard, around the chops. Bake until the chops are just done, about 18 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Swiss Chard: You can use either green or red Swiss chard for this dish. You'll want to rinse the leaves thoroughly before cooking, but don't dry them. The moisture will help keep the chard from drying out during cooking.

My note: I added a dash of red pepper to the chard mix and I used the grill to "brown" the chops. Put the chops on top of the greens, then placed the casserole dish into the grill, lid closed, to finish cooking. Also, no fontina, so I just skipped it. A keeper here.

Usually sauteed in olive oil with garlic and some crushed red pepper flakes then add a bit of chicken broth and cover to wilt it. Sometimes I add chopped tomatoes and basil; sometimes lemon juice. For a main dish, I've started with this base recipe adding a bit more chicken broth and cannellini beans and placed a couple of tilapia filets seasoned with just salt and pepper or cajun seasoning on top to steam with the chard. Served with some nice crusty italian bread.

When I visited northern Italy bietola (Italian for Swiss chard) was frequently offered on menus there. I don't recall seeing spinach, which here is normally considered the key ingredient in "Florentine" dishes. In Florence it always seemed to be chard. So my suggestion is to get out all of those Florentine recipes and make them with Swiss chard. I would start with Eggs Florentine.

Jim

I haven't had chard in several years, but we always loved it.

It was usually prepared much the same as spinach, so Jim's advice seems very apt.

Many years ago, I discovered I could get my family to eat almost any vegetable if I found a way to make it that included bacon.

Our favorite way for chard was to fry some diced bacon until crisp, remove from pan, add chopped chard, stir around a bit, cover, & let it 'wilt' for a few minutes.
Remove from pan, add bacon back to it, & serve.

Pretty much the same as lascatx does, just without the onion & pepper jelly.
But those additions sound so good, I'm hoping to find some chard in the stores soon. It's not seen very often around here.

Rusty

SWISS CHARD TART

PASTRY
1Â cup all-purpose flour
1/4Â teaspoon salt
1/4Â cup extra virgin olive oil

FILLING
1Â lb swiss chard leaf
salt & freshly ground black pepper
3Â large eggs
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Prepare the crust: Combine the flour and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium-size bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup water and then oil, mixing until completely blended. Knead briefly. The dough will be very moist, much like a cookie dough. Press the dough into a 10 1/2-inch loose-bottomed metal tart tin.

â¨Prepare the filling: Wash and dry the green leafy portion of the swiss chard, discarded the white center stem. Break up the leaves and coarsely chop them, in several batches, in a food processor.

â¨Place the chard in a large shallow skillet and season with salt and pepper to taste. Over low heat wilt the chard and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Combine the eggs and the cheese in a medium bowl; mix until completely blended. Stir in the chard and mix well. Pour the mixture into the prepared pastry shell.

Bake until the crust is golden and the chard mixture is firm and browned, about 40 minutes.

Serve at room temperature.

Jim

Here's a recipe I made up last weekend using beet greens, but you can certainly substitute Swiss Chard, as they are closely related and taste nearly identical. DH told me last week that I should write this one down, but of course, I didn't get around to it till now, so I'm having to go by memory of something I just threw together using what I had on hand at the time. We were at our farmhouse in Tahlequah, but I had picked some beets from my garden in Texas to take with us. DH grilled the beets, and I had the beet greens to play with. To keep this on the Swiss Chard subject, I would just substitute Swiss Chard for the beet greens listed in the recipe. To give credit where it's due, I very loosely based this recipe on Giada DeLaurentis' Mediterranean Salad, but it's changed quite a bit.

Orzo and Beet Greens

Ingredients (measurments approximate)

1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 large onion (1015 or red) chopped
Beet Greens - from around 2 or 3 beets, or more, chopped into small pieces (makes around 2 cups packed)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lemons, juiced
1 lemon, zested
1/2 pound Orzo (1/2 box)
3 cups vegetable (or chicken stock)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Using a medium to large pot, saute the onion in 1 tablespoon olive till transluscent. Add the beet greens and saute till wilted and a little tender. Add the lemon zest, and remove from the beet, onion, and zext mixture from the pan into another dish, and set aside. Add the 2 tablespoons oil, salt, pepper, and the garlic, saute for just a minute, then add the orzo, sauteing until just toasted and a little brown. Carefully add the stock and lemon juice, and boil till the orzo has absorbed most of the liquid. Stir occasionally. When itÂs almost done, add the beet and onion mixture, and continue heating till the stock has been absorbed. Turn off the heat and stir in the basil. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sally

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I love:

Swiss Chard and Raisins

2 1/2 pounds (the average weight of 2 bundles) red Swiss chard
1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 turns around the pan in a slow stream) extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 pound, 2 slices, pancetta or bacon, chopped
1 small yellow skinned onion, chopped
1/4 cup (2 handfuls) golden raisins
14 ounces chicken stock or broth
Coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, a couple pinches ground or equivalent of freshly grated
Directions
Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Coarsely chop the greens of clean red chard. Add oil, pancetta, and chopped onion to the pan and cook 2 or 3 minutes until onions begin to soften and pancetta is lightly browned. Add chopped chard to pan in large bunches, adding remaining chard as the greens wilt.

Sprinkle in raisins, pour in broth and season with salt and nutmeg. Bring liquid to a boil, reduce heat and simmer greens 10 to 15 minutes until greens are no longer bitter and you are ready to serve. Raisins will plump as the dish cooks through.