What’s in season now?  Carrots, onions, strawberries and swiss chard, as well as limited amounts of snow peas, sugar peas and cabbage.

Chard goes by many names, but the one that you may be most familiar with is Swiss chard. It is also called leaf beet, seakettle beet, and spinach beet. The taste will remind you of beets but it has the texture of spinach. It is a large-leaf vegetable with wide flat stems resembling celery.

The word "Swiss" was used to distinguish chard from French charde or chardon by 19^th century seed catalog publishers and the name stuck.

Chard is very popular among Mediterranean cooks, but the first varieties have been traced back to Sicily. In the US, the leaves are valued while European cooks value the stalks to the point of discarding the leaves or feeding them to animals.

If you have fresh Swiss chard, you can harvest it while the leaves are young and tender or after maturity. The more-mature leaves will have slightly tougher stems.

To purchase at the local market, look for crisp stalks and bright leaves. Swiss chard, just like other leafy greens, requires thorough cleaning. You may need to wash them several times in cool clean water to remove any dirt and grit that may be on the leaves and stems.

Chard is extremely perishable, so if you do not plan to cook them as soon as purchased or harvested, wrap unwashed in plastic and refrigerate immediately. The Swiss chard should keep in the crisper for 2 to 3 days. The stalks, if separated from the leaves, can be stored for four days.

Chard has high amount of Vitamin A and is naturally high in sodium. Other minerals also can be found in high amounts, such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. There only are 35 calories in one cup of chopped Chard.

To get all the benefits of Swiss chard, you can eat it raw or cooked. The young, tender chard leaves can be eaten raw, adding a beet-like flavor to salads and sandwiches. Chard can be used in place of spinach in any recipe but will need to be cooked a bit longer. More-mature Swiss chard with larger leaves require a longer cooking time for the stems.

Since people are trying to preserve more, know that Chard leaves freeze well after blanching, but the stems become soggy and rather unappealing so remove before freezing.

To freeze Swiss chard:

• Prepare a sink of cold water. Rinse chard through several changes of water lifting leaves out leaving sand and soil behind. Then separate the stems from the leaves.
• Bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Drop about one pound of whole leaves in boiling water, cover and blanch for 2 minutes (blanch stems for 3 minutes).
• Remove chard from water and immerse in an ice water bath for 2 minutes. Drain.
• Pack in zip-closure freezer bags or freezer containers, leaving no headspace. Label, date and freeze at zero degrees for up to one year.

Swiss chard is another one of those greens that you can now add to your list of vegetables to try or eat a little more of while it is in season.

For more information on Food Preservation, the Cooperative Extension Service will hold a workshop from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, June 12 at 209 Graham-Hopedale Road, Burlington. Topics covered will be freezing, jams and jellies, pickles, low-acid and high acid foods. Cost is $15, which includes registration and hand-outs.

Presto Pressure lid testing is available at the Extension Office, too.  You only need to bring the lid, not the whole canner.

BRAISED SWISS CHARD

1 bunch Swiss chard
3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can of Delmonte tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Clean Swiss chard with water. Cut off stems. Do not dry leaves; allow moisture to remain after washing.

In a skillet, braise the garlic in the olive oil until golden. Add Swiss chard, braised until wilted. Add tomato sauce. Cook for 10 minutes over low heat. Salt and pepper to taste.

VEGETABLE CASSOULET

1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound spinach or Swiss chard, cut into large pieces
2 carrots, shredded
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper
12 ounces shredded Mozzarella cheese
3 1/2 cups cooked Great Northern White Beans

Sauté onion and garlic in 1 teaspoon oil. Do not brown. Steam spinach until just wilted. Set aside. To the garlic and onion mixture, add the carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, and seasonings. Cook for 10 minutes.

In a two quart, deep casserole, layer half of the beans, topped by a layer of half of the spinach, topped by a layer of half of the cheese and half of the vegetable sauce. Repeat the layering ending with the cheese on top. Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 1 hour.

Swiss Chard

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch Swiss chard, stalks discarded, leaves cut into wide ribbons

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil on a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook until tender and aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the Swiss chard and balsamic vinegar; cook and stir until the chard is wilted and tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Evelyn D. DeLoatch is a Family & Consumer Sciences Educator with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service (alamance.ces.ncsu.edu).  Questions or comments may be directed to her at (336) 570-6740 or e-mail at evelyn_deloatch@ncsu.edu.

Times News Article  

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Evelyn D. DeLoatch – Family & Consumer Science Agent