Monday, February 20, 2006

Swiss Chard, Garlic, Olive Oil

I planted Swiss Chard in my garden a few months ago, and now, after some recent rains, it is growing huge! The leaves are each about 12 inches long and 6 inches wide. I have the kind with red stems like the one shown in this picture.

Usually, I add it to salads, but last night, I tried something new that my mother suggested. I chopped up the Swiss Chard leaves into 2 inch by 2 inch squares and the stems into little pieces. Then I sauted both the leaves and the stems with olive oil and garlic and added a little salt and pepper. It was simple and tasty.

Olive oil and garlic is such an amazing combination. You can pretty much saute anything in olive oil and garlic and it is sure to taste and smell good.

Swiss Chard is known to be very healthy. It is high in vitamins K, A, and C, and is great for your bones and preventing certain types of cancer. According to whfoods.org:
If vegetables got grades for traditional nutrients alone, Swiss chard would be the vegetable valedictorian. [It earns] excellent marks for its concentrations of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, vitamin E, and dietary fiber. Swiss chard also emerges as a very good source of copper, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, protein, phosphorous, vitamin B1, zinc, folate, biotin, niacin and pantothenic acid.

2 comments:

byaspan said...

Yes, I heartily agree... garlic and olive oil are staples in our house as well. Is that your chard in the photo or is it a "stock chard" photo?

Here is the south we use "greens" (as in turnip greens or other greens). I saute them in oil, garlic, onions and soy sauce. Sometimes I add turkey bacon to it and it is good!

Ken Weiner said...

That picture was just a "stock chard" photo, but mine doesn't look too different.