Growers and Grocers

I have a confession: I’ve always been a little wary of chard.  Maybe it’s because it looks sort of like a kind of weed that used to grow in my yard when I was a child.  Even the Rainbow or Bright Lights variety, that’s all shot with shades of red and orange, puts me on my defenses.

When our CSA box last included a bundle of the Bright Lights variety of chard, I felt I had to at least try it.  After all, wasn’t that part of the reason we got the CSA?  To be surprised, and encouraged to try the new things that might be presented to us?  All right, chard it was.

Fortunately about the same time I got an amazing cookbook.  If you don’t already have it, you should stop reading right now, run to the bookstore (or library) and get yourself a copy of “Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets” by Deborah Madison.  I’ve long been a fan of Ms. Madison; her “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone” is an outstanding source of unique and delicious vegetable recipes, even if you’re not a vegetarian.  This cookbook, although not as big nor as all-encompasing, trumps even that one in terms of it’s outstanding recipes.  Ms. Madison visited farmers’ markets all over the country and put together recipes and meals from what she found.  A number of the menus are vegetarian, but there’s nothing that says you couldn’t grill a steak or roast a chicken to go along with these dishes.

And that’s exactly what we did.  I made the Bright Lights Chard Gratin and we had grilled New York Strip steaks with it.  I was completely won over.

The recipe head note suggests that this gratin could be made with all chard, or a mixture of chard and other greens.  As it happened, I only had about a quarter of the amount of chard the recipe called for, but I did have a sack of spinach greens from the same box.  Since the recipe portion is for 6 as a side, I halved the whole thing, and wound up using 8 ounces of chard (one decent sized bunch) and 8 ounces of spinach, for a total of a pound of greens. 

The result surpassed my expectations.  The greens get satueed and cooked in a creamy white sauce with goat cheese (hey, what isn’t better with cheese?) and topped with a crumb mixture that crisps up beautifully in the oven.  It comes out bubbly and absolutely delicious.  I can’t wait until this week to see if we get any more chard.  I’m completely hooked!

Bright Lights Chard Gratin

from “Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets” by Deborah Madison

serves 4 as a main dish; 6 as a side dish

• 2 pounds chard, including half the stems (or an equal amount of greens, such as spinach, nettles or sorrel)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• sea salt, and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons chopped dill or parsley
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup milk, cream, or a mixture of cream and stock
• 1 cup crumbled fresh goat cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly oil a 2-quart gratin dish. 

Separate the leaves and chard stems.  Wash the leaves well, then coarsely chop them.  Trim the ragged edges off the stems, wash them well, and dice them into small pieces.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a wide skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has begun to brown, about 20 minutes. (Note: I found this took about 5-7 minutes, not 20; maybe my heat was higher.  In any event, it shouldn’t be left unattended, because you may find this goes faster than the original recipe says it will.)  Add the chard leaves (and any other greens you may be using), sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt, and cook until they’re wilted and tender, about 10 minutes (interestingly, this was about the correct amount of time).

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small skillet and add the bread crumbs, garlic and dill or parsley.  Cook, stirring for about a minute, then scrape the crumbs into a bowl and return the pan to the heat.

Melt the last tablespoon of butter, stir in the flour, then whisk in the milk (I used plain old 2%).  Simmer for 5 minutes, season with 1/2 teaspoons salt, and add to the chard mixture.  Add the cheese, then taste the mixture, correct for salt, and season with pepper. (Note: I actually added the goat cheese to the white sauce in the pan and whisked it until the cheese was melted, then poured it over the chard mixture.  This was successful also.)

Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and cover with the bread crumbs.  Bake until heated through and golden on the surface, about 25 minutes.  (The sauce will also be bubbling a bit.) Let settle a few minutes before serving.

Eat, and vow to make again as soon as humanly possible!