Chard is a very underrated vegetable.probably because we cook them poorly, they seem bland, too soft in texture, with little flavor, or we associate them with tasteless dishes. It’s time to take advantage of your full potential. If we know how to make chard, they can be as exquisite and versatile as turnip greens, kale, spinach or pak choy.

By understanding a little, we can handle and cook them in a thousand ways, and even more so now that they are in season and we find them fresh in any greengrocer.

How to cook chard

Chard can be very interesting because of its color. Apart from the usual white and green ones too there are some with purple or pink stemsand in yellow-orange tones. With such a striking color they no longer look like the same vegetable, but the truth is that they are.

• Take advantage of the fact that they have a different and cheerful appearance and buy them when you see them. The red or pink color is due to the fact that they contain a good amount of betalainsantioxidants that also give that color, for example, to beets. Betalains are soluble in water (they can color your broths) and change color depending on the temperature and pH of the medium, which means that we They can be used a lot to make very attractive dishes. such as rice and risottos, salads, etc.
• When you buy chard, whatever color it is, choose the freshest, brightest and smoothest, without blackened leaves, and store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to use them (they will last 3-6 days, depending on how long it has been since they were picked). If they become a little wilted, you can recover them by cutting the end of the stem, which will be dry, and putting them in water, like a bouquet of flowers. In a few hours they regain their firmness.
• Chard can be frozen, but it is advisable to first separate the leaves from the stems and then blanch them for 1 minute (2 for the stems). It is inevitable that, afterwards, they will be much softer, but it will be like in the case of frozen spinach. It is a good way to quickly use chard when you need it for stews, soups, curries, etc.
• To prepare fresh chard we have to wash them well under the tap to remove all traces of soil they may have, both on the stalks and on the leaves. One of the things that is usually done is remove the strandswhich consists of making a cut in the stem, almost parallel to the table, and pulling. Some hard threads will come out. These threads are the strands that can later be balled up when eating chard.

Of course, most of the chard sold now is tender enough not to have these hard strands, but you can do it, optionally, when the stalks are very large or you notice them a little woody.

How to cook chard

The most common way to prepare them is to cook them in plenty of salted water for a few minutes, then drain them and prepare them according to the recipe you want to make. However, The loss of nutrients is reduced to a minimum if they are cooked only with the water that remains after washing, without covering and stirring with a wooden spoon..

In this way, while they preserve their color better, their flavor intensifies. A splash of lemon or apple cider vinegar will help season them when prepared this way.

• If the chard stalks are somewhat hard, they can also be cut separately and placed a few minutes before with a little water or oil, adding the green leaves later.
• It should be taken into account that, as volume decreases a lot when cookingcan be calculated up to 300 or 400 g of chard per person. For that same reason You have to be very cautious when adding salt, Because the flavors are very concentrated and it is easy for them to be excessively salty.
• To avoid using very large containers, one possibility is Splash the chard with boiling water until it reduces in size somewhat.
• Both its green leaves and its stems are excellent for making vegetable broths.in combination with root vegetables.
• To cook this vegetable It is better to use clay or stainless steel pots, avoiding aluminum ones, as the oxalates they contain can react with this metal producing harmful substances.

7 recipes with tasty and fun chard

Here are several suggestions for making chard and getting the most out of this healthy vegetable.

1.Raw in salad

Swiss chard can be eaten raw, just like spinach.. Once cleaned, we can cut the leaves into strips or pieces and add them to our fresh salads, mixing them with the rest of the ingredients. Any dressing works well for them, although They benefit a lot from flavors such as sesame and olive oil.

2.Chard in rolls or wraps

When you have chard with very large and tender leaves, use them to make rolls or wraps. Instead of using tortillas or roll dough, use a large leaf (remove the stem) and roll it with the filling you preferfor example salad, julienned fresh vegetables, sautéed legumes, etc. Try making dolmades using chard leaves instead of grape leaves.

3.Blanked chard with a good dressing

If we want to take advantage of all the flavor and texture of the chard and serve them separately or whole, We can chop them and blanch them in boiling water. Leaves require 2 minutes, stems 3-4 minutes. Then, drain them well and season them with a little salt.

It is not the best way to use them in general because chard does very well in the company of other ingredients, but it is the tastiest way to cook them and serve them alone. Instead of vinegar and oil, put oil, lemon and a little bit of Gomasio (ground sesame with salt), debittered brewer’s yeast or tahini.

4. Stewed chard or in stews

It is wonderful in spoon dishes, especially in stews and stews. What you have to keep in mind is that the cooking time for chard is short, so do not add them at the beginning of cooking, but almost at the end. That way they don’t fall apart and remain whole, and with a very good texture.

5. Sautéed chard in stir-fries

The stalks have a very different texture to the leaves and need a little more cooking time, so it is convenient to separate them when cutting them. You can use only the leaves for one dish and only the stalks for another. For example They are great in stir-fries, finely chopped like the rest of the ingredients.

6.Chard sautéed in the wok

Sautéing chard is also a good way to cook it. make them just like you would make some spinach or a pak choycutting them into medium pieces and sautéing them with the rest of the ingredients in a frying pan or wok. They go very well with any combination of ingredients.

7. breaded chard stalks

The white, fleshy stalks of chard They are as appreciated as their leaves and you can prepare batters, both alone and filled.

For this The fibers are first removed from the veins and the stems are cut. into pieces about 3 cm long. They are put in a saucepan with plenty of water and salt and they cook for 3-5 minutes.

After draining them, dredge each stem in flour.it is shaken so that the excess falls, it is passed with beaten egg and fried in hot oil.

The stalks too They can be served with sauce or even raw in salads.

types of chard: how to distinguish them and what they are used for

The name of chard comes from the Arabic word acilcaand botanically it is called Beta vulgaris.

It is about one of the oldest known vegetablessince its consumption has been documented for more than six millennia. Our ancestors, without this knowledge of diet, They sensed the many benefits of this winter vegetable and they included it in many stews or used it to accompany cereals and tubers.

It has its origins in the Asian continent, and has always been cultivated in the Islamic countries, attributing hygienic and healing properties to it.

There are three main varieties of chard: the common, the forage and the wild.

The common, also called white chard, belongs to the family of the chenopodiaceae and the Beta genus, which is the same as the beet They only differ these two plants in which the root of the chard is much thinnerthe leaves are larger and fleshier and has white or reddish-yellow nerves.

Forage chard It has more modest leaves and a large, fleshy rootwhich is why it is used in animal feed.

For its part, Wild chard is a pretty-looking perennial plant, with bluish flowers, which grows on beaches and river banks, and is also cultivated in some gardens.