Surprisingly this recipes is one of my kids favorite. Not only is it a great way to get them to eat their veggies but it is also quick and easy to make. If you are not growing chard yet, in the future you totally should. Not only is it a stunningly beautiful plant in the garden with its colorful stalks of red, purple, orange and yellow (depending on your variety) but it is also a great beginner plant to grow (aka as easy and not temperamental).
If you haven't eaten chard before then you are in for a real treat. Chard is pretty flexible in its uses in recipes. The leaves of chard can be used in recipes as a substitute for spinach. Whereas the stalks can be used like you would asparagus. However, the Sauteed Chard & Parmesan Recipe here will use all the parts of the plant and is very tasty. To give you yet another reason to grow Chard, Chard has also been ranked as the 7th most nutritious food to eat (out of over 1,000 raw foods evaluated). Needless to say, I would highly recommend you give it a try by starting off with the recipe below from allrecipes.com. I hope you and your kids enjoy it as much as we do.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 small red onion, diced
1 bunch Swiss chard, stems and center ribs cut out and chopped together, leaves coarsely chopped separately
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste (I use more lemon than this since my kids like it more lemony, lemons are growing in winter too so easy to grab from the tree)
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste (optional)
Directions
Melt butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and onion, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the chard stems and the white wine. Simmer until the stems begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chard leaves, and cook until wilted. Finally, stir in lemon juice and Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt if needed.
