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Sautéed Swiss Chard Ribs with Cream and Pasta Recipe

Filed under Pasta, Vegetable, Vegetarian, Wheat-free

Sautéed Swiss Chard Ribs with Cream and Pasta

The Swiss chard I planted last spring survived the winter to vigorously return this year. Last week we made a yogurt dip with the leaves of some swiss chard I picked. The ribs from that bunch went into this dish, which was so good we ate it up before I could get a photo. The basic recipe for the chard comes from The Victory Garden Cookbook. Just straight with the cream and butter, the chard is too rich, but mixed in with pasta (we used rice penne pasta) it is superb.

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Sautéed Swiss Chard Ribs with Cream and Pasta Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb swiss chard, yielding 2 cups of chopped ribs
1/4 cup (half a stick) butter
3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream
Enough dry pasta to make about one quart of cooked pasta (use rice pasta if gluten-free is required)
Salt and pepper

Method

1 Separate the ribs from the greens in the manner described here. Cut the ribs into 1/2-inch to 1-inch pieces. Blanch the ribs in lightly salted boiling water for 3 minutes.

swiss-chard-stalks-1.jpg swiss-chard-stalks-2.jpg

2 Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the drained, blanched ribs and simmer for 4 minutes. Add heavy cream and cook until cream reduces by two-thirds.

3 While the cream is reducing, cook up your pasta according to the pasta's package directions.

4 Mix creamed chard with pasta. Season lightly with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Serves four.

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Posted by Elise on May 17, 2006 and indexed Pasta, Swiss Chard

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Comments

I love the sound of this. I just planted my chard seeds a few days ago.

Posted by: kalyn on May 17, 2006 5:15 AM

Could I substitute chopped red cabbage for the swiss chard?

Posted by: Kyleen on May 17, 2006 1:29 PM

Kalyn - excellent! We'll look forward to hearing about great chard recipes from you later this summer?

Hi Jeff - Indeed it is pretty colorful, though by the time the cream cooks down, much of the vividness of the color has dimmed.

Hi Kyleen - uh, no. At least I wouldn't. Doesn't sound particularly appetizing. But then again, what do I know? If you do try it, let us know how it went.

Posted by: Elise [TypeKey Profile Page] on May 19, 2006 12:07 AM

Well I didn't substitute the red cabbage. Just followed the recipe instructions like a good girl. :o) I did put a little garlic-infused olive oil on the pasta after it cooked to keep it from sticking (I made more than I needed to use in other things). It's good, but not very flavorful. I think next time I'll add a few crimini mushrooms.

Posted by: Kyleen on June 23, 2006 5:17 PM

I have been cooking Swiss Chard for over 50 years. I cut the stems off and then slice across the leaves in 1 in. pieaces. Saute 3-4 cloves of minced garlic with a little olive oil. Add one 8 oz. can of Hunts Tomato Sauce and salt and pepper to taste, along with a sprinkle of Oregano and Basil. Then add the chopped swiss chard and acover with about 1 c. of water (one can full or more). Simmer for about 30 mins. Can be served with garlic bread or pasta. This has been in our family since the beginning of time.

Posted by: Angela on March 14, 2007 10:02 AM

We're growing some swiss chard at the moment (May). Can it be eaten raw, whilst still young?And how tall/large does it grow? Because I have never seen it for sale anywhere, and I've no idea when to use it.

I must say, though, so far - with the leaves around 15cm tall, although it has a pleasant texture, it tastes of notbing.

bob

Posted by: bob jones on May 27, 2007 3:18 AM

We have so much chard, white, because that is all we could get this spring, that we have been putting it in salads. Tastes like lettuce. Here in the US we still measure the old fashioned way, so I'm not sure what 15cm is in Euro speak. Since we eat what we pick within 30 min it hasn't made a difference in the toughness of the chard, kind of like celery.

Posted by: graham groves on June 3, 2007 3:03 PM

Having two full rows of chard, both green and red, I recently blanched (in truth, I just poured hot water from my dispenser over it,) and then filled each leaf or several smaller overlapped leaves with a rice, almond, golden raisen, feta cheese mixture; rolled them and baked them. I served them with yogurt. My family liked them. It was kind of Greek in nature.

Posted by: Kelley on July 15, 2007 1:26 PM

My family loved this recipe. I did add a few extras to make it a quick main dish. I added leeks (to help cut some of the richness of the cream sauce) in with the the swiss chard stems and chunks of browned chicken breast (made a little extra sauce, too). It was wonderful. The swiss chard stalks have a very unique flavor and beautiful color to the dish. My children had seconds and asked me to make it again. Great and simple recipe!

Posted by: Wendy on September 12, 2007 9:25 PM

Just wanted to say that my husband, two year old daughter and one of our friends that came to dinner all really loved this meal. We will for sure be making it again.

Posted by: Carey on November 7, 2007 10:34 AM

Easy and good. Used half whole milk and half cream and sauce seemed fine.

Posted by: Marcia on January 19, 2008 7:56 PM

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