First Di(sh)patch from the Farmer's Market: Chard!

Does anyone really get excited about chard?  And just what exactly is it anyway?  Last night as my husband rummaged through our refrigerator to find the lettuce mix I had just bought from the farmer's market, he pulled out some large sprigs of rainbow chard and announced, "I don't know what you're doing with this local food thing! What is this stuff?  Can we actually eat it?" This was all said while he rinsed the chard (thinking it was some kind of weird lettuce).  Unfortunately for him, chard was not on the menu last night.  (He wasn't too sad, I'm sorry to say.) 

As it turns out, chard is actually in the same species as the garden beet, although we eat the leaves instead of the root.  It also happens to be a nutritional all star.  Its nutritional merits include high contents of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, potassium, iron, Vitamin E, and fiber! It also has a good amount of calcium, vitamin B12, and protein (among many others).  Besides all these good things, it is very low in calories-- only 35 calories in one boiled cup.

During my trip to the Wednesday Fresh Farms market at Foggy Bottom in DC, great discoveries amassed.  Aside from the greenhouse grown lettuces and tomatoes, fresh bread, and dried tomatoes, I met a vendor who makes amazing cheeses (more about these later).  But, the real winner of the trip were the beautiful bunches of chard.  Having never cooked it before, it seemed like a totally practical choice to buy and take home.

As Kate (check out all her great photos for this post) and I arrived back at my house with the first challenge of whipping up something from what was available at the farmer's market, I confessed to her that I wasn't entirely sure what to do with the chard.  After a little rummaging around and some thinking about other leafy greens, I came up with the following recipe.  It was delicious.  I would guess that you could substitute swiss chard or kale for the rainbow chard and have similar results. 

Rainbow Chard Saute

1 TBS of olive oil
1/4 cup of onion
2 garlic cloves, smashed, then roughly chopped
a handful of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/8 cup water or vegetable bouillon (more if needed)
2 TBS of white wine
1 bunch of rainbow chard (about 8-10 leaves and parts of the stems), chopped
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (optional)

Begin by sauteing the onion and garlic in the olive oil.  Cook until the onion begins to be translucent.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes, vegetable bouillon, and white wine.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.   

Add the chard and Italian spice mix (if desired), then cover the saute pan.  Steam for about 2-3 minutes.  Do not overcook!  Serve the finished product alone as a side dish or atop a wild rice mix.

The final product (delicious)!

 

I think this would be good cooked with a variety of things.  For example fresh tomatoes or white beans would be delicious as well. The basic flavors come from the onion, the smashed garlic, the wine (and of course the all-star, chard).

Enjoy!

Comments

[Meghan]

You guys need to plan a trip to Boston. By far the coolest farmers market I have ever seen!!