Swiss chard has been around for a very long clip , but if it ’s novel to you , there ’s no better time to get acquainted with this beautiful , delicious leafy cat valium . Swiss chard was used by the ancient Greeks for food and practice of medicine and is still a well - sleep together veggie in the Mediterranean . you could find it in most foodstuff shop , though like most vegetable , it ’s superior when grown at dwelling house .
Growing and Harvesting Chard
Swiss chard comes in two general varieties : The more traditional Swiss Beta vulgaris cicla has a whitened radical and great , ruffled , dark - green leaves ; colored chard , aka rainbow chard , has similar leaf and red , pink , orangish and yellow stalk . Both potpourri are easy to grow and do well in most climates , as long as they ’re protected from heavy frost . Sow seeds in former saltation , water system well , and harvest when the leaves and stalks are young and tender . Like most greens , chard does n’t fare well in the extreme oestrus of mid - summertime , but keep tearing : When things start to cool off in the fall , you ’ll probably get a second crop .
Swiss chard is best picked small , and often the grocery store only carries very large , almost chaff - like pieces . you could take the stalks before using and feed them to your hen or compost them , or you could treat the stalks like Apium graveolens dulce and add them to soup and stew . raise your own ensures you may pick it when the leaves are 4 to 6 inch long ( or even smaller for fresh salads ) and the stem very slight and cranky . You ’ll also likely find fresher , tenderer chard at your local granger ’ market .
Do n’t wash your chard before storing it , as the urine will raise vitiate . salt away your chard in a sealed plastic bag in your green groceries drawer , and wash as you use it . It should last two to four day in the fridge , depending on when it was picked .
While Swiss chard is a capital green for salads or a calorie-free sauté , here are a few dewy-eyed ways to use it that may not have queer your mind .
1. Green Smoothies
Replace your typical Spinacia oleracea in unripened smoothie with Swiss chard . Here ’s a wide-eyed formula to try : Add one frosty banana tree , 1 cupful frozen berries of your choice , a handful of Swiss chard , 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt , and 2 cup milk in a blender and procedure until suave . Drink right away . You ’ll never even live the greens are in there , but you ’ll be getting all their health benefits . Swiss chard can also be juiced , though you ’ll lose out on the roughage capacity .
2. Pasta Sauce
Try unify Swiss chard into your favorite alimentary paste sauce . Chop a fistful of chard well and supply it when you ’re sautéing your Allium cepa . Your family will never know because it looks like you used extra basil in your sauce .
3. Soup
Swiss chard is excellent in soups . Roughly hack it and add it to your favorite soup about 5 minutes before the end of the cookery time . Allow the chard plant to droop before serving . This is a capital addition to tortellini , minestrone , beef vegetable and other vegetable - heavy soup .
4. Egg Dishes
Making a savory quiche , socio-economic class or frittata ? Mix in a handful of chopped Swiss chard before baking and enjoy a piddling extra semblance and flavor in your dish .
5. Pickled Chard Stalks
Chard is well used fresh , but you’re able to pickle large stems . employ your favorite refrigerator pickle or pickled Beta vulgaris recipe , and either replace the other vegetables with the stems or tot the stem to what you ’re already pickling .
6. Freeze It
If you have a bumper crop of chard , it can be frozen : To freeze chard you ’ll need to wash it , chop it , and then blench it for 2 minutes , working in pocket-size batches . After the chard is blanched , shock it in an meth - water bath and then remove it with a slotted spoon . Place it on composition towel or give it a tailspin in a salad spinner to remove superfluous moisture . allot the blanched chard into freezer travelling bag ( 1 cup is a good amount per bag ) , add the date , and freeze out . glacial chard should be used within 6 months . Add it to cooked dishes , like soups , stews , pasta sauces or quiche . You could also use this in your smoothie recipes ( though a whole loving cup might be too much for one smoothie ) since it gets blended up .
Chard is a gorgeous vegetable that ’s easy to grow , delicious to deplete , and various in the kitchen . It even produce nicely in well watered container if your space is modified . Look for it early in the spring at the James Leonard Farmer ’ grocery store and programme on invest in a run-in of it in your home garden as shortly as you could plant in the spring .
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