Tag Archives: swiss chard

Chickpea, Chard and Porcini Soup

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This hearty soup gets its big flavors from the earthiness of porcini mushrooms. If desired, use canned white beans, such as cannellini, instead of the chickpeas, and kale or spinach in place of chard.

Feel free to add in additions of your own. We included a bay leave and about 1/2-pound of small baby potatoes that were quartered. And for some odd reason, those small potato pieces took much longer to get soft, so keep checking on them, if using.

The porcini broth was a bit underwhelming so The Hubs decided to enhance the flavor with some mushroom flavored Better Than Bouillon. When cooled, we covered and refrigerated the soup overnight, then reheated some for lunch the next day, it was delicious!!

Chickpea, Chard and Porcini Soup

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms
  • 3 cups hot water
  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter (may substitute vegan butter, such as Earth Balance)
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • One (14 -oz.) can diced tomatoes, plus their juices
  • One (14 -oz.) can no-salt-added chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 1/2 cups baby potatoes quartered (optional)
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf, preferably fresh
  • 1/4 tsp. fine sea or table salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 10 oz. (1 bunch) Swiss chard, stemmed and shredded
  • Parmesan, hard goat cheese or other flavorful hard cheese, shaved (optional; may substitute vegan Parmesan)

Directions

  1. Soak the porcini in the hot water for 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon, reserving the soaking water. Rinse the mushrooms briefly under cold water (they can be gritty), pat dry with a clean dish towel and coarsely chop. Strain the mushroom soaking liquid through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or paper towels into a bowl.
  2. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the olive oil with the butter. When the mixture is hot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute, then add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes.
  3. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, rosemary, reserved mushroom soaking liquid, salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer gently until the flavors meld, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the chard and cook until it is tender, about 5 minutes.
  4. If the soup seems too thick, thin it out with a little water. Discard the rosemary. Taste and add salt and/or pepper as needed.
  5. Ladle into warmed bowls, drizzle over some olive oil, and top with the cheese shavings, if using. Serve hot.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe from the Washington Post

Pasta with Chard and Italian Sausage

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According to a New York Times article, Chard or Swiss Chard, is a vegetable with which many people are barely acquainted. There are those who might be able to recognize it in the market but who have rarely cooked or eaten it. For many shoppers, it’s just another of those mysterious bunches of green. It may look like too much when you start, but just like spinach, it shrinks down considerably.

Although chard is sold yearlong, it is particularly sturdy and in good condition during cooler weather. Hot weather wilts it and it does not look as fresh. But that should not be a problem for a few months yet. It is excellent simply chopped or shredded and braised, and when prepared in this manner the flavor is less bitter than escarole and the color more attractive than cabbage or spinach.

Often folks remove the stems and discard them. Not us, we chop up the stalks and make them part of the recipe, as in this case. If you have leftovers—which were fabulous BTW—drizzle some EVOO over the pasta before you zap it in the microwave. Hard to believe, but it might be even better as leftovers!

You can customize this recipe somewhat by increasing the sausage to one pound; use only eight ounces of pasta; add canned white beans; and/or switch out chopped walnuts for the pine nuts (which tend to be quite expensive).

Pasta with Chard and Italian Sausage

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 bunch Swiss chard, about 1 pound, washed, stem ends trimmed
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil divided
  • 1/2 lb. fresh pork sausage (about 3 links) casings removed
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 1/2 tsp. salt or more to taste
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 tsp. Aleppo chile flakes or more to taste
  • 1 cup chicken broth, preferably homemade
  • 12 oz. short dried pasta, such as penne, rigatoni, or gemelli
  • Zest of 1/2 large lemon
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • 1 1/2 oz. grated Parmesan cheese, about 1/2 cup
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts

Directions

  1. Prepare the chard by trimming the stem ends and discarding them. Then trim the leaves from the large center stems. Set the stems aside and pile up the leaves. Slice the stems into 1/2-inch pieces. Pile 4-5 leaves on top of each other, roll tightly, then slice into 1 inch ribbons. Repeat with the remaining leaves. Cut the strips of leaves again sideways so that they are roughly 1- by 3-inch rectangles.
  2. Put a large pot of water on to boil over high heat. This will be for the pasta.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a separate large deep, skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage in chunks and flatten each piece with the back of a wooden spatula or spoon. Flip the sausage pieces occasionally until they are golden brown, then remove them to a plate lined with paper towels. Drain the fat from the pan. Once the sausage has cooled a bit, break it up into smaller pieces with the wooden spatula or spoon you’ve been cooking with.
  4. Return the Dutch oven to the stove. Lower the heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Put in the chopped onions and sprinkle them with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the chard stems. Cook another 5 minutes, stirring frequently and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
  5. Add garlic to the onion/chard stem mixture and cook for about 1 minute. Then add the chard leaves, the chile flakes, and about 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, using tongs to lift the chard leaves near the bottom of the pan to the top over and over so that they all cook evenly. After about 1 minute, add the broth to the pan. Lower the heat to simmer and cook about 8 minutes. Add the sausage to the pot.
  6. In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the package directions until it is almost al dente. (It will cook further with the chard mixture later on.) Scoop up about 1 cup of pasta water and put it aside before draining the pasta. Drain the pasta in a colander and add it to the chard mixture.
  7. Stir the pasta into the warm chard and sausage mixture. Add 1/4 cup of pasta water along with the lemon zest and toss the pasta mixture over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add more pasta water in 1/4 cup increments to keep the pasta loose, but not soupy. Stir in 1 tablespoon of butter and allow it to melt and coat the pasta mixture. Add half of the Parmesan cheese and the pine nuts to the mixture, stir again, and dish out into servings bowls.
  8. Offer more Parmesan for each person to add as they like.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe by Davis Tanis for The NYTimes Cooking