Recipe: Swiss Chard with Pine Nuts and Currants

SWISS CHARD WITH PINE NUTS AND CURRANTS

"I recently tried this dish at Chris MacDonald's Cava Restaurant in Toronto and enjoyed it so much I made up a version for my Spanish cooking class."

1 lb. Swiss chard
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely slivered
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
pinch of chili flakes
1/2 cup currants or other dark dried fruit (rehydrated in 2 cups of warm wine)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
juice and zest of 1 lemon

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling bowl. Set up an ice bath beside the stove.

While the water is boiling, wash and dry the Swiss chard and remove the stems. Reserve the stems and chop them up finely. Take the leaves and pile about 6 on top of each other. Chiffonade the leaves (i.e. cut into strips) by rolling several leaves at a time into a log and cutting it into 1-inch pieces.

Plunge the shredded Swiss chard leaves into the pot and let cook, uncovered, until the leaves turn bright green, about 1 minute.

Using a slotted spoon, take the chard out of the pot and plunge the leaves into the ice water to stop the cooking. Once the chard is cooled, remove it from the ice bath and pat dry.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic slivers and pine nuts and saute quickly to make sure neither burns.

When the pine nuts are slightly golden, add the chili flakes and then the Swiss chard. Coat the Swiss chard in the flavored olive oil, add the plumped currants and warm the chard through. Season with the salt and pepper to taste and add the lemon juice and zest.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings
Source: Menus from an Orchard Table: Celebrating the Food and Wine of the Okanagan by Heidi Noble and Chris Mason Stearns