Stalk to Stem

Today one of my boyfriend's co-workers brought some of her excess garden bounty to share. There was the ubiquitous zucchini, enormous spiky cucumbers, and a huge bunch of red chard. I snagged the chard.

I really never cook chard. While I have fully embraced kale, I haven't quite surpassed the memories of the limp bitter steamed chard of my childhood. It's not that I don't want to try recipes with chard, actually I really do. Like the chard and ricotta tart from David Tanis' cookbook. I just don't want it steamed.

I think one of the reasons I have not cooked with chard sooner is because it is really cemented in my mind as something that you get from someone's garden, not the grocery store. I think that's one of the reasons I jumped on it so quickly today.

Once you get your hands on some chard, by garden or by store, you should not steam it. It's a lot like spinach, but one of it's special attributes is its thick stalk, which in this case was a bright pinky red, as thick and colorful as rhubarb. Unlike kale, which has a thin but tough stem that is discarded, chard's stem doesn't need to be wasted. Unfortunately, because the leaves and stem need to be treated differently, many recipes call for using just the leaves.

So I found a recipe that uses just the stalks! Who knew chard stalks could be addictive? In this case, chard is literally charred on the grill, then mixed with garlicky olive oil, and doused with lemon juice.

Grilled Rainbow Chard with Fava Beans and Oregano

Adapted from Gourmet

2 lbs Swiss chard (leaves removed from the stalks and reserved for another use)

1 cup shelled fava beans, or shelled edamame*

1 teaspoon olive oil, divided

1 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons chopped oregano*

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

First blanch the chard stalks. Cut the stalks in half crosswise and cook them in a pot of salted boiling water until just tender (3 to 5 minutes). As soon as they are done cooking, transfer the stalks to a bowl of ice water until they are cool, then move them to a plate.

Cook the beans in the boiling water for 2 minutes, then transfer them to the same ice bath previously used for the chard. If you are using fava beans, peel the skins off.

Toss the chard stems with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Grill them over a medium-hot grill until they are tender and lightly charred (around 7 minutes). Slice the chard into inch long pieces.

Cook the garlic in 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, over medium heat until just pale golden. Add oregano, beans, and chard, and cook for 1 additional minute. Transfer to a serving dish and stir in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

*I skipped the fava beans and oregano because I didn't have any on hand, but I think that the addition of beans especially would have helped round out the recipe. I also think that white beans might be a nice addition as well.