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Swiss chard : either you love it or you hate it. This lemon garlic Swiss chard recipe is one of the only ways I enjoy eating it, I find that I really have to add a LOT of flavor to chard to make it palatable. It’s a flavor mix of beet leaves and spinach, in my opinion, and a rather strong one. That said, it is EXTREMELY good for you, so I do try to find ways to eat Swiss chard when I can! Sometimes I’ll toss it into my Mediterranean vegetable frittata recipe as a hidden bonus ingredient!
A Fast & Easy Swiss Chard Recipe
Although it’s definitely an acquired taste (kind of a middle ground between spinach and kale), this fast and easy Swiss chard recipe has over 700 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin K which helps with blood clotting and bone metabolism. AND it has 200 times the recommended intake of vitamin A which helps with your eyesight and boosts your immune system.
In addition to that, it has anti-inflammatory properties and helps with blood sugar regulation in your body. So it sounds like an acquired taste that’s worth acquiring, right?!
One of the most surprising things about Swiss chard is that it didn’t actually originate in Switzerland! “Swiss” chard hails from Sicily where it’s described in Italian as “bietole” which is the Italian for “Swiss”. This is because of a botanist called Karl Koch who first made the distinction between chard and French spinach and was from…. Germany! Yep, Germany, not Switzerland. If you find that a bit confusing I don’t blame you. I do too!
How To Make Lemon Parmesan Garlic Swiss Chard
- Prepare your chard by taking out the stems and center ribs and chopping them together. Then place in a bowl. You can also leave the center ribs on if you like, it’s up to you.
- Coarsely tear the leaves and set aside in a second bowl.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.
- Place the bowl of rib pieces/stem in the hot oil and saute until the ribs are tenderized.
- Add garlic and leaves and saute until they’ve wilted and cooked.
- Take off the heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest.
- Top it off with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and Parmesan, and serve when it’s hot!
Tips And Tricks For Cooking Swiss Chard
- One inconvenience about Swiss chard is that it doesn’t last for very long. It’ll keep for about 3 days in the refrigerator once kept in a perforated plastic bag.
- Don’t cook your Swiss chard in an aluminum pan unless you want it to develop an extremely unappealing murky color. It contains naturally existing compounds called oxalates that cause this discoloration and it is not an appetizing look, trust me.
- Swiss chard is in season from October to April and June to August but you can pretty much get it all year round.
- When choosing your chard, look for firm colorful stalks and bright green leaves. If you see any wilting leaves that are turning yellow then pass on those bunches, they’re not fresh enough. Any chard with brown stalks should be avoided too.
- Swiss Chard stems can be tough! If you have tender stems, then you can reap all the health benefits and saute them until tender. IF they are tough and stringy, leave them out.
Love your veggies? Try these vegetable loaded Salad Recipes:
Classic Bacon Broccoli Salad Recipe
Happy cooking! So, where do you stand on Swiss chard? Love it? Hate it? Indifferent? Eat it because it’s healthy and you have to?
Love,
Karlynn
Lemon Parmesan Garlic Swiss Chard
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Course
- Side Dish
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 83
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 bunches Swiss chard washed and dried
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice to taste
- 1-2 teaspoons lemon zest to taste
- 2-4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- To prep the chard, , start by taking the stems and center ribs out and chop them together, placing in a bowl. You can also chop the stems off and leave the center ribs on, the choice is up to you. Tear the, leaves coarsely and set aside in a different bowl.
- (You can either cook the stems OR leave them out if you only want the leaves. I like a bit of texture, so I cook them first until tender.)
- In a large skillet heat the olive oil.
- Place the bowl of stem/rib pieces into the hot oil and saute until the ribs are tender.
- Add in the leaves and the garlic and, saute until they have wilted and cooked.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Sprinkle with the Parmesan, salt and pepper.
- Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
- If you really want a strong garlic flavor, use more garlic in this recipe.
- Adjust the lemon juice and zest to your tastes
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Marla says
OMG, this is do delicious, I wish I had more!