Swiss Family Chard

My mother and her neighbor used to have an ongoing debate about which was the best part of the Swiss chard plant, the leaves or the stalks.

Swiss chard might best be described as a leafy vegetable somewhat like spinach, and, in fact, the leaves may be substituted for spinach in cooking.

Though their long-running debate took place in Connecticut, both my mother and her friend were born in Germany, where they had learned to weave this vegetable into scads of different dishes. The argument resulted in a friendly compromise: Mother pulled the chard from her garden and kept the leaves for our family, giving the stalks to our neighbor.

That was until one day, when my mother tossed some stalks into a steamed vegetable dish and found out what she had been missing all those years. She still gave away the stalks, but not as many.

Swiss chard is always best when you grow it yourself, because it is the first thing to come up in the spring and the last thing to be tilled in early winter. All summer long, as I walk by my garden, I keep cutting off the outside leaves, and this pruning makes the plant bushier.

Marcia and I like to toss a few chopped leaves into a pasta sauce or salad, or prepare the recipes below. We may make the Steamed Chard Leaves and Pine Nuts recipe and add it to a soup or lasagna filling. The stalks we work into an Oriental dish.

So which is better, the stalks or the leaves? We’ll let you be the judge.

STEAMED CHARD LEAVES AND PINE NUTS

2 pounds Swiss chard

1 tablespoon olive or canola oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

1/4 cup pine nuts

Remove stems from chard leaves and reserve, if desired for another dish. Wash leaves well and cut into 1/2-inch strips while still wet. Set aside but don’t drain.

Combine olive oil, garlic and onion in 3-quart microwave-proof casserole. Microwave on HIGH (100% power) until onion is tender, 1 to 3 minutes. Stir in chopped leaves. Cover with lid or plastic wrap, turned back slightly. Microwave on HIGH 7 to 10 minutes or until desired doneness is reached, stirring once.

Stir in pine nuts. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes 4 servings.

SWISS CHARD RIBBON SOUP

1/2 pound Swiss chard leaves, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch strips

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 cup cooked rice or large handful of croutons

4 thin lemon slices

Place chard leaves in 2-quart microwave-proof casserole. Cover with lid or plastic wrap, turned back slightly. Microwave on HIGH (100% power) until partially tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add broth, lemon juice, nutmeg and cooked rice (but not croutons). Cover again and microwave on HIGH until heated through, 4 to 6 minutes.

Sprinkle on croutons, if rice has not been added. Garnish each serving with lemon slice on top. Makes 4 servings.

STIR-’N’-SHAKE CHARD STALKS WITH SOY SAUCE

1 tablespoon sesame or peanut oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 cups 1/2-inch cut pieces Swiss chard stalks

Combine sesame oil and garlic in 1-quart microwave-proof casserole. Microwave on HIGH (100% power) until garlic is tender but not brown, 40 seconds to 2 minutes. Stir in soy sauce and chard stalks.

Cover casserole with lid or plastic wrap, turned back on 1 side. Holding casserole lid or cover on, shake casserole dish upward to coat stalks. Microwave on HIGH 2 to 5 minutes or until desired doneness is reached, stirring once. Makes 4 servings.