Ohhhhh, don't discard the stems! Like most Italians, I've eaten Swiss Chard all my life and I'd have to say it's my favorite vegetable. The cooking method in this recipe is pretty accurate, but...don't discard the stems! Slice them as you would celery, then cover with water and simmer until tender, then add them to the leaves. The stems of Rainbow chard are particularly pretty and add great texture and contrast, not to mention flavor! I don't bother making a garlic paste, mincing the garlic is perfectly fine. Lemon is not something I routinely add and I found I liked it, tho' I only gave it a squeeze from a half lemon. I didn't use as much bacon either, tho' the term "one bunch" of Swiss Chard is vague, so certainly add all ingredients to taste. For those not familiar with Swiss Chard it is mild, tender and a little sweeter than spinach - not bitter at all like other greens. The effort involved to wash, trim and cook it is well worth it!
This was simple and delicious. I added onions and extra virgin olive oil, but the bacon & garlic are the key flavor enhancers. Yum!
Garlic and bacon, what's not to love? And the added zip of the lemon was great... I didn't think it needed salt & pepper and skipped it altogether. 4.5 stars! Because even though it's delicious, I would like something a little easier on the heart. :) Sidenote: be sure to chop the chard into manageable pieces; it does not wilt down the same way spinach does, just fyi.
Wow!!! I got family to eat this and ask for seconds... and they never would eat swiss chard before! I used the first batch of chard from the garden and plan to use this recipe often. Although I removed the stems I cut them up and sauteed them with for a few minutes before adding the chopped leaves. They were delicious!
We LOVED this recipe. I got Swiss Chard at the Farmers Market and didn't know how to cook it because I knew there was something about the bitter taste but I didn't remember what. Anyway this was a terrific first way to try it! I would imagine it would be great for spinach or beet greens as well only less cooking? Thanks....
Fantastic! I had no problem figuring out this recipe so easy and it came out delicious! I'd never tried Swiss Chard before but my other gardening friends all grew it so I thought I'd give it a shot. Only difference was I used minced fresh garlic instead of paste. In a recipe unless otherwise stated an ingredient is typically raw like the bacon for instance. Covering the dish for 4 minutes is important because this lets the juices from the leaves steam themselves producing a tender-crisp texture that is just delicious! It did not say to remove the bacon or drain the grease like one reviewer did the grease is part of the sauteing fat so I left it in and followed the instructions as written and with that there was plenty of liquid to cook in. One bunch was perfect and from what I've seen a bunch is typically 8 to 12 leaves... just right for a family of 3 or 4. The recipe was perfectly clear to me and the whole family loved it! It earns its 5 stars!
I used rainbow chard which made it really pretty for Christmas dinner. I used the stems and cooked them in the pan a couple minutes before adding the leaves which adds a nice crunch. The flavor was great everybody asked for seconds and it was great as leftovers too!
We had a very hard time understanding the recipe. First we couldn't tell if you chop uncooked bacon (a chore) or cooked. So we used raw bacon and had the "separated fat" from the meat in the pan. It didn't say drain it or remove bacon; just melt butter in the skillet. I chose to drain it and wipe the skillet out first then add the butter garlic and lemon. As others had suggested we enjoy using the sliced crunchy stems and had to cook them a few minutes first so we tossed the bacon pieces back in. Then we added the leaves which we kept stirring over medium heat so neither the chard nor bacon would scorch because there was very little liquid. I can't imagine turning up the heat and covering it. By the way since we were confused about how much swiss chard is a "bunch" we used about 12 large leaves... maybe it was too much? I gave it 4 stars because the flavor was very good and the ingredients are a great mix. Just wish it was written more clearly.
This was very good. And the family enjoyed it. I did slice up most of the stems and threw them in before wilting the greens. Yum!
Made this to the recipe...it was ok but wasn't that impressed...I like chard and greens but would use a different recipe before this one....nothing specific it just didn't do it for us...
