Chard Recipes Part One: Mac and Cheese

With chard and other leafy vegetables comes that inevitable question: if I don't put it in a salad or saute it, what can I do with it? Thankfully, chard (swiss, rainbow and other cultivars of this leafy green) is actually a pretty versatile vegetable.

We're going to give you a few different recipes that show you what you can cook with chard. Just remember that you don't necessarily have to eat it by itself - it's great when combined with fish, lamb and a range of other vegetables.

Chard Recipe 1: Mac and Cheese With Chard

First off, chard goes really well with cheeses and white sauces. One basic recipe that the kids will probably like is mac and cheese. Of course if you're actually interested in how your food tastes, you won't want to just mix a box of Kraft mac and cheese with some chopped chard and call it a day. Thankfully, mac and cheese is a pretty straightforward recipe, even when made from scratch.

Ingredients

6 tbsp butter or 3 tbsp butter and then 3 tbsp canola oil
1/2 large onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups 2% milk
4 cups of grated cheese (gouda or smoked gouda are good, so are some Italian cheeses, like pecorino romano, etc., I'll talk more about cheese in a bit)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. swiss chard, rinsed, ribs removed
12 oz. elbow macaroni (penne and rotelli work well, too)
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 tsp smoked spanish paprika (optional)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Before we get started, let's talk about cheese. For this recipe, you can use a wide range of cheeses and it's probably a good idea to experiment to find out what you and your family likes to eat. Gouda, swiss, parmigiano reggiano, pecorino romano, Monterey jack, muenster, sharp cheddar, etc. are all good cheeses to use. It's actually not a bad idea to mix two cheeses, for example one sharper cheese and one milder one, say gouda and sharp cheddar, or pecorino romano and mozzarella, to get a more interesting flavor for your mac and cheese.

Directions: First, heat 3 tbsp of butter or oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion, then the flour and garlic, and saute those ingredients until the garlic and onions become translucent. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring the mixture to a boil (should take a few minutes). Add half (2 cups) of your grated cheese and stir it until the cheese is melted into the mixture.

Next, add the spices you like. If you're going to add nutmeg, you probably don't want to add the smoked paprika. If you to give your mac and cheese a smoky flavor, though (for example if you used smoked gouda as the cheese), I would add the smoked paprika and forgo the nutmeg. Cayenne adds heat and will work with nutmeg without affecting the flavor too much, but use the spice only if your family likes a spicier mac and cheese. Good spice combos are nutmeg and black pepper or smoked paprika and cayenne.

Next, grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then, while you're cooking the cheese sauce, start a pot of boiling water. Add the chard to the boiling water and cook it for about a minute (until it's tender but not overly wilted). Remove the chard and let it cool. Bring the water back to a boil so you can re-use it to cook the pasta. Drain the pasta once it's cooked and add it immediately to the cheese sauce. Stir it all together.

Chop the chard up into small strips. Pour about a third of the mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle half of the chard onto the first third. Also add 1 cup of the remaining cheese. Next, add the second third of the pasta/cheese mixture and add the rest of the chard to it. Lastly, add the final third of the pasta/cheese mixture and sprinkle the remaining cheese as well as the breadcrumbs on top. Bake the mixture for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and then let cool for 10-15 minutes.

Note that this recipe is also pretty good with sausage of some kind added to the mixture. If you do decide to add sausage, cook it first (boil it if you want to make it somewhat healthier), dice it into small pieces and then add it right before you bake this dish when you're pouring the pasta/cheese mixture into the pan. Chicken sausage is a good substitute if you want to make this recipe slightly healthier. Divvy the chopped sausage into thirds and add it in layers along with the chard so you don't end up with a sausage layer by itself.

This dish probably serves 4-5 normal people, maybe 3 really hungry people. This recipe was adapted from a May 2009 recipe from Bon Appetit magazine (the cheese types, sausage and spicing suggestions are original additions).

Rosemary Skewers

The piney aromas of rosemary pair particularly well with grilled meats
and Mediterranean flavors. The herb is a wonderful addition to
focaccia bread, lamb roasts and chicken dishes. However, rosemary is
also one of the few herbs that can do double duty as both a flavoring
and as a skewer. Using rosemary as skewers imparts a great deal of
flavor to roasted or grilled meats and vegetables. Try skewering
chicken with cherry tomatoes and Greek olives, or lamb with eggplant
and bell peppers or even chunks of feta cheese. In this preparation, I
used large cubes of beef in a simple marinade.

1 1/2 pounds grassfeed bison/beef tenderloin or sirloin, at least 1-inch think
10 to 12 rosemary sprigs
5 to 6 garlic cloves
olive oil
salt
pepper






















Select rosemary sprigs that are 6 to 8 inches long with a woody stem.
Examine each sprig and look for the place where the stem goes from
being soft, green and pliable to more rigid and woody. With one hand,
grasp the sprig at this spot while stripping the leaves downward from
the woody portion with the other hand. (Reserve the stripped leaves
for that focaccia bread or for stuffing a roasted chicken.)

Cut your meat into 1- to 2-inch cubes. Marinate at least 15 minutes
with about five cloves of minced garlic, about a 1/4-cup of olive oil
and a teaspoon each of salt and pepper (adjust these seasonings to
taste). Stir to coat the beef evenly with all the seasonings.

Carefully skewer two or three chunks of meat on each rosemary sprig,
leaving at least a 1/4 inch between. To make this job easier, you can
whittle the end of the rosemary sprig to a slight point or pierce the
meat through with the tip of a paring knife. To prevent the rosemary
sprigs from burning, they can be wrapped in foil before cooking. I,
however, am not so finicky.




















Once your skewers are all prepared, they can be grilled outdoors
(charcoal or mesquite briquets lend a wonderful smoky flavor) or on
the stove top using a grill pan. They can also be roasted in a
400-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes. This time, I pan fried the
skewers in a piping hot cast iron skillet with a little olive oil.
Three to five minutes per side allowed the meat to sear and just cook
through for medium doneness.





















Serve with pita bread and a green salad for an easy spring or summer dinner.

Kale and Other Winter Greens

First in our recipe series is the common winter green known as kale. Most people in the U.S. have heard of it before, but if asked if they’ve ever eaten it, many would say no. High in nutrients and also a traditional ingredient in dishes from many European countries, kale is most often found in the U.S. as a garnish. That firm, leafy green vegetable under your turkey sandwich? During the winter months it’s often kale. One of the reasons we’re starting with kale is because many people don’t have any idea what to do with it in the kitchen, and we want to show you that even a vegetable as often maligned as kale can be turned into a tasty winter dish.
We’re going to start with a quick profile of the plant and from there offer some recipes that use kale, and could also use other, related winter greens as well.
Kale is a form of cabbage (it’s scientific name being “brassica oleracea,” from the “acephala” group) that’s green in color but has central leaves that don’t form a “head” as with other types of cabbage. Some of kale’s properties include high levels of antioxidants, anti-inflammatory characteristics, high levels of beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein and also some calcium.
Kale, along with cabbage and other vegetables in the family, for example broccoli, has sulforaphane, a chemical that is believed to have cancer-fighting properties. Also, in a recent study, kale was found to reduce the chance of getting glaucoma by a whopping 59 percent if eaten only once per month. Here’s a link to the study:

Kale Study

From a “health food” standpoint, kale is pretty awesome stuff but eaten raw, it’s fairly bitter in taste, and you’d get sick of it pretty fast. When cooked the right way and in the right types of dishes, though, it actually makes for some pretty good eating. So what can you make with kale?
One of the most well-known dishes made with kale is Irish in origin, and is made for the holiday of Halloween night, which is traditionally the eve of the Celtic new year. Known as colcannon, this combination of greens, scallions (a.k.a. green onions) and potatoes is a hearty, comforting dish made for cold winter nights.
I got the idea from issue 91 of Saveur magazine but adapted it to what I had around the house.
I made a variation on this recipe that used yellow onions and garlic instead of green onions. Otherwise the recipe was pretty similar, and ended up tasting good by the time I was done. I used the potatoes that I had on hand (a mix of small red, yellow and purple potatoes), and it turned out well, but I’d suggest using Yukon Gold or another good mashing potato for a more “traditional” style of colcannon.

Colcannon


SERVES 4–6

Ingredients
12 small potatoes or 5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces)
4 cups lightly packed kale and other winter greens (collard greens, cabbage works too, etc.)
5 tbsp. butter
1 small yellow onion, diced or half a medium onion (also diced)
2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of milk
Salt and pepper to taste


Basic Ingredients

1. Boil the peeled potatoes in a large pot of salted water for about 35 minutes or until they are soft enough to mash.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, wash all the greens, remove the leaves from the tough stems and chop the leaves into smaller, salad-greens-sized pieces.

2. Meanwhile, bring 1/2 cup water and 3 tbsp. of the butter to a boil in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add the washed greens, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until just tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain well, discarding the liquid, and set aside.


Greens, onion and garlic cooking.

3. Melt 2 tbsp. of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the diced onion to the pan. Lower the heat to medium and saute the onions for about 2-3 minutes then add the minced garlic. Saute the garlic and onion mixture for another minute or two (take care not to let the garlic burn) and then add the greens. Add salt and pepper to the greens at this stage. Cook the greens, onion and garlic mixture for another 5-10 minutes over medium to medium-low heat until the greens are the texture you want (some people like them very wilted, others with a crunchier texture). Once you’re done cooking the greens, drain off any excess liquid.


Mixing it all together.

4. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water off by pouring the potatoes into a colander. Then add the cooked potatoes back to the large pot. Add the cup of milk and begin mashing the potatoes. Once the potatoes are sufficiently mashed, add the mixture of greens, onion and garlic to the potatoes. Mix well. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Toss a pat of butter on top and serve hot.

The other recipe from that issue of Saveur that I decided to try was a way of making use of leftover colcannon by turning them into cakes. It’s pretty basic. It just involves adding flour and butter to leftover colcannon, making little cakes from the mixture and then frying them in butter. Not exactly the most nutritious way of making use of leftover colcannon, but these potato cakes taste really good. The recipe from Saveur follows.

Colcannon Cakes

Saveur credited this recipe to Irish grocer Peter Ward. From issue 91 of Saveur.

1 cup Colcannon
1⁄3 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. butter

1. Put colcannon, flour, and salt and pepper to taste into a medium bowl and stir to combine. Shape mixture into 3 equal patties, each about 3/4" thick.

2. Heat a heavy medium skillet over medium heat, add butter, and melt until foaming. Fry cakes in butter, pressing cakes lightly with a spatula, until golden brown, 3–4 minutes per side.