Swiss Chard Recipe

 A Healthy recipe for cooking Swiss Chard, that colorful green leafy vegetable that is full of different nutrients, and is quick, and easy, to cook. The nutritional value is amazing. Cancer patients, or anyone, that has low platelet counts need to eat a lot of protein and green leafy vegetables, and our Swiss Chard Recipe here is perfect for them.

The abundance of Vitamin K in a one cup serving of Swiss Chard gives you about 300 times the recommended daily amount.  Vitamins  A, C, and E, magnesium, potassium, and iron are more benefits to this leafy green vegetable that tastes a bit like spinach. Some people only use the leaves, but the stalks are also full of antitoxins that reportedly help the body heal.

How to prepare Swiss Chard before cooking

After picking your Swiss Chard from the garden, or buying it at the market, cut off the bottom of the stalks, a couple of inches.  Next you want to soak the chard in cold water for about 5-10 minutes, cleaning off the leaves while they soak.

Swiss Chard Recipe With Bacon Grease

Most Swiss Chard recipes will tell you that the stalk takes longer to cook, so cook it separately, or before adding the leaves, for about 2 minutes. However, we cook everything together for about 8-10 minutes. ng>Note:

I thought there was an awful lot of the chard in the pan, and didn't realize it would wilt down.

Ingredients

1. About 1 1/2 lbs (1/2 / K) Swiss Chard, or (2 bunches)
2. Garlic either whole or in power form
3. Bacon grease (enough to cover the bottom of the pan)

Optional Ingredients would be roasted nuts, dates, or raisins.

Directions

1. Separate the leaves from the bunch and place in tepid water (some people say warm, some say cold....either works)
2. Leave sit in water for about 10 minutes before chopping it.
3. After soaking, chop into small pieces. You can either leave the stalk on, or only use the leaves.
4. Heat the bacon grease in a skillet, and season the chopped chard with a little garlic. If you are using minced garlic add it with the chard to cook.
5. You will want to cook on a medium to low flame...about 2-4 minutes if you removed the stalk, and about 8-10 minutes with the stalks. 

Other uses for Swiss Chrard are to put it in soups, quiche, salads, or add different ingredients to your Sautéed chard, like dates, to add a bit of sweetness. You can also top it with warm roasted nuts.  There are several recipes, but basically you follow the same directions of soak, rinse, chop, and either cook by itself, or add it to other recipes.