The picture you are looking at is of red Swiss chard. There are many many ways to cook it. If you want to sauté it, you would fold the leaf so that the rib is on the outside. Cut down the leaf so that you are cutting out the rib. You would then slice the rib. Put a small amount of oil (depends on how much Swiss chard) in a skillet. Usually for a bunch I use 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Slice a small onion and 2 or 3 cloves of garlic. Slice the chard and stems. Sauté the rib slices in the oil with the onion and garlic for about 12 to 15 minutes or until tender. Add the chopped chard leaves and continue sautéing until wilted. This will take just a few minutes. I like to add a small ¼ to ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper or sprinkle with lemon juice and add golden raisins and pine nuts if you want.
This is also great in stir-fry’s. It is highly perishable. Separate leaves from stalks and store separately. Wrapped in plastic and refrigerated, the leaves will last 2 days and the stalks 4 days. Clean thoroughly. Remove any strings. For every 2 cups you will get 1.2 grams of fiber, 160mg sodium; 284mg potassium; 1.4g proteins and 2.8g carbohydrates.
The following is the info on the greens that I mentioned. EAT YOUR GREENS!!!!!!!
COOKING TENDER GREENS
For tender greens such as spinach, Swiss chard, and beet greens, a combination of wilting and sautéing yields perfect results.
Challenge: Too often, greens are lumped together into one big leaf pile. Cooks use the same set of instructions for stemming, cutting, and cooking this odd mix, even though some of them are delicate enough for salads, while others seem tough as shoe leather. After cleaning, stemming, and cooking over 100 pounds of greens, we realized that about all they had in common was their color. They couldn't be cooked, or even stemmed, the same way. However, they did split quite naturally into two categories: tender greens and strong-flavored greens. Because the tender greens are moisture-holding succulents, they need no additional liquid during cooking; because their leaves are delicate, they cook quickly; and because they are so mild, tender greens meld easily with other flavors. With this in mind, we set out to determine the best method for cooking tender greens.
Solution: Between blanching, steaming, microwaving and wilting, the simplest, most straightforward method of cooking proved to be wilting on the stovetop. We simply tossed the leaves, wet from washing, into a heated saute pan, covered it, and cooked, stirring occasionally, until the greens were wilted by the steam from their own liquid. We then found that we got even better results when combining this technique with sauteing. To do this, we heated oil in the saute pan, added the wet greens, covered, and steamed until wilted. Once the greens wilted, we removed the lid and sauteed the greens over high heat until all the liquid evaporated.
MASTER RECIPE FOR WILTED AND SAUTÉED TENDER GREENS
Serves 4
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds tender greens such as spinach, beet greens, or Swiss chard, cleaned and prepared
Salt and ground black pepper
Lemon wedges (optional)
Heat oil with garlic in large, nonreactive sauté pan or Dutch oven. When garlic sizzles and starts to turn golden, add wet greens. Cover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until greens completely wilt, but are still bright green, about 5 minutes. Uncover, season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook over high heat until liquid evaporates, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges if desired.
TENDER GREENS WITH INDIAN SPICES
Serves 4
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, minced
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1/2 medium jalapeño, seeded and minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 pounds tender greens such as spinach, beet greens, or Swiss chard, cleaned and prepared
Salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Heat oil in large sauté pan or Dutch oven. Add onion, cook until partially softened, about 1 minute. Add next 5 ingredients; cook until onion softens and spices are fragrant, about 2 minutes longer. Add wet greens and follow wilt/sauté method in Master Recipe. When greens have wilted, season with salt and pepper to taste. When liquid evaporates, add cream and brown sugar; cook, uncovered, until cream thickens, about 2 minutes longer.
TENDER GREENS WITH CUMIN, TOMATOES, AND CILANTRO
Serves 4
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, minced
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
2 large plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 pounds tender greens such as spinach, beet greens, or Swiss chard, cleaned and prepared
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
Salt and ground black pepper
Lime wedges (optional)
Heat oil in large sauté pan or Dutch oven. Add onion; sauté until partially softened, about 1 minute. Add garlic, jalapeño, and cumin; sauté until onion softens, about 2 minutes longer. Add tomatoes; cook until their juices release, about 1 minute. Add wet greens and follow wilt/sauté method in Master Recipe. When greens have wilted, add cilantro plus salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, with lime wedges if desired.
TENDER GREENS WITH ASIAN FLAVORINGS
Serves 4
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
2 pounds tender greens such as spinach, beet greens, or Swiss chard, cleaned and prepared
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Mix first 4 ingredients together in small bowl; set aside. Heat vegetable oil with garlic and red pepper flakes in large sauté pan or Dutch oven. When garlic sizzles and starts to turn golden, add wet greens and follow wilt/sauté method in Master Recipe. When greens’ liquid has almost evaporated, add vinegar mixture. Sauté until vinegar mixture almost evaporates, about 1 minute longer. Serve immediately with toasted sesame seeds.
SWISS CHARD
Swiss Chard and Portobello Mushrooms
4 Servings—dairy-free
4 Tbs. tamari
2 Tbs. vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
2 tsp. Asian sesame oil
4 tsp. minced shallots
2 tsp. country-style Dijon mustard
2 portobello mushrooms caps, about 5 oz. each
2 bunches red swiss chard
1 tsp. plus 1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
4 tsp. minced garlic
In shallow bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons tamari, Worcestershire sauce,
vinegar, sesame oil, shallots and mustard. Add mushroom caps and
marinate 15 minutes, turning occasionally.
Meanwhile, remove stems from chard and coarsely chop.
In large skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook,
stirring, 1 minute. Add chard and remaining tamari. Cover and cook until
wilted, 4 minutes. Uncover and set aside.
Wipe out pan. Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat.
Remove mushrooms from marinade; reserve marinade. Add mushrooms
and cook until tender, 4 minutes per side.
To serve, reheat chard and divide among plates. Cut mushrooms into 1/2-
inch-thick slices. Arrange sliced mushrooms over chard and drizzle with
remaining marinade if desired.
PER serving: 86 CAL; 4 G PROT; 5 G TOTAL FAT (1 SAT. FAT); 9 G
CARB.; 0 MG CHOL; 946 MG SOD.; 2 G FIBER
Incredible Shrinking Greens
Since greens shrink so dramatically when prepared and cooked, it’s hard to know how much to buy when a recipe gives ingredient amounts, such as “2 cups blanched and squeezed spinach.” It’s equally difficult to calculate how to substitute frozen spinach for fresh. Though based on averages, the following should help you make more accurate guesses.
Yield from 10-ounce package fresh (curly leaf) spinach, pre-rinsed and more or less stemmed: