Hello Carol,

Here are some tasty recipes for Swiss Chard....

Of course, you know that any recipe made with spinich, you can simply substitute it for the Swiss Chard. I hope you enjoy these delicious recipes.

Gratin of Swiss Chard
(Sauce de Cardes)
serves 6

In the Luberon and Vaucluse regions of France, a "saue" is another name for a creamy version of a vegetable stew enriched with cheese and bubbling brown in its casserole. "Cardes" are the stalks of mature swiss chard.

2 lbs. swiss chards stalks, washed and stripped of tough strings
juice of 1 lemon
glass of white wine
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. olive oil
2 anchovy fillets, crushed
2 T. flour, sifted
3 T. grated Gruyere cheese
1/4 t. grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
handful of small black olives

Cut the chard into 1 inch pieces and boil for 20 mts. with lemon juice, wine, bay leaves, thyme and enough water just to cover.

In a skillet, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil, stir in the anchovies and sprinkle the flour over. Stir for a minute or two, and then begin to add the strained, still-warm liquid from the chard little by little. Mix well till the consistency is of thick cream. Let simmer for 10 mts. Add the cheese and nutmeg, and season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Mix the sauce with the drained chard and sprinkle with the olives. Pour into a buttered casserole and bake in oven for 20-25 mts. till pale golden and bubbling.

Swiss Chard Pie

6-12 servings

1 10-12 oz. bunch swiss chard, washed, trimmed and chopped
3 T. olive oil
1 bunch green scallions, finely chopped
1/4 c. fresh parsley, minced
1 c. cottage cheese
1 c. feta cheese
4 eggs
1/2 t. dried dill
fresh ground pepper

1 c. flour
1 c. water
2 T. butter

Preheat oven to 350. Squeeze all moisture from chard. Heta 2 T. oil in skillet over med-high heat and heat green scallions, parsley and saute til softened. Mix in chard, cheeses, 2 lightly beaten eggs and dill. Add pepper to taste. Don't add salt because the feta already is salty. Remove from heat.

Combine remaining 2 eggs, flour and water in a med. bowl. Mix well to make a thin batter. Coat a 8x12 inch baking dish with remaining 1 T. oil, pour in half the batter, spread evenly.

Top with chard mixture and dot with butter. Pour remaining batter over, bake 45-60 mts. or until set.

Cut into small squares for appetizers or into 6 larger squares for lunch or dinner. Serve immediately.

Swiss Chard With Tomatoes

4 servings

2 lbs. Swiss Chard
2 cloves, garlic, minced
1/4 c. olive oil
1 1/2 c. peeled and chopped tomatoes
1/4 t. celery salt
1/8 t. ground blk. pepper
1 T. capers

Trim roots, wash chard thoroughly. Drain. Remove leaves from stalk. Tear into small pieces, cut stalks into 1 inch pieces. Cover and cook in boiling water 3-5 mts. til tender. Drain.

Saute garlic til golden in a skillet. Remove and discard garlic, add tomatoes, salt and pepper, cover and simmer 8-10 mts. Add chard and cook uncovered 10 mts. stirring frequently. Stir in capers.

Swiss Chrd Strudel

This is a strudel made with swiss chard, nutty-flavored Jarlsburg cheese and Parmesan wrapped in
phyllo, and baked til golden.

Serves 8-10

1 bunch swiss chard (about 10 ozs.)
4 T. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 t. salt
black pepper to taste
1/2 c. shredded Jarlsburg cheese
2 T. plus 2 t. bread crumbs
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
3 T. butter, melted
6 sheets phyllo

Preheat oven to 375.

Rinse and drain the chard. Remove stems, trim and discard the woody bottoms. Chop the rest, and set aside and coarsly chop the leaves.

Heat 2 T. of oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the onion and saute til wilted, about 5 mts. Stir in the chard stems and cook 4 mts. more.

Stir in the chard leaves and cook 4 mts. more. Drian off any excess liquid and transfer mixture to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the Jarlsburg, 1 T. of breadcrumbs and the Pasrmesan. Set aside. Stir in the butter and rest of oil in a small bowl. Open i sheet of phyllo and brush it with some of the oil/butter mix. Sprinkle with 1 t. of crumbs.

Top with 4 more sheets repeating the above procedure and finally the last sheet only brushed with butter/oil.

Spoon the filling along one short end of phyllo leaving about 1 1/2 inches empty on ea. side. Fold the long sides in, to enclose the ends of the filling.

Roll the phyllo and filling over onto itself to form a strudel roll. Place on a baking sheet seam side down and brush the top with any remaining butter/oil mixture. Bake til golden about 25 mts. Let strudel stand for 5 mts. before slicing and serving.

Linguini with Swiss Chard

Serves 4

3 T. olive oil
1/4 c. pine nuts
1 T. finely chopped garlic
1/3 c. finely chopped shallots
2 c. chopped red or green swiss chard
1 c. heavy whipping cream
large pinch of saffron dissolved in 2 T. hot water
1 lb. linguini
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
finely minced zest of 1/2 lemon

Heat 1 T. oil in a small skillet over med-low heat. Add pine nuts and stir to coat with oil. Saute the nuts til lightly browned, 5 mts. Set aside.

In a large skillet large enought to hold all the linguini, saute the garlic and shallots in the remaining 2 T. oil on med. heat til softened. Increase the heat, add the chard and cook til limp 1-2 mts. Add the cream and saffron infusion and cook over low heat about 5 mts. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, the linguini has been cooking according to pkg. directions. Bring the sauce back to a simmer and add the drained linguini and toss to coat. Add the Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste and the minced lemon zest and toss well. Serve immediatley with the toasted pine nuts.