Swiss Chard with Currants and Pine Nuts
- Total Time
- About 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 3tablespoons currants, raisins, or golden raisins
- 2pounds Swiss chard, stemmed and washed in several changes of water, stems diced and set aside
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1 to 2garlic cloves (to taste), minced
- 3tablespoons pine nuts
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
169 calories; 12 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 578 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
- Step 1
Place the raisins or currants in a bowl and pour on hot water to cover. Soak 10 minutes and drain.
- Step 2
Fill a bowl with ice water. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and add the chard. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until just tender. Transfer to the bowl of ice water and let sit for a few minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much water as you can. Chop coarsely.
- Step 3
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the chard stems and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until tender. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring, until they begin to color, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, just until the garlic begins to smell fragrant about 1 minute. Add the chopped greens and raisins or currants and toss together until they are well coated with oil and heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve, or allow to cool and serve at room temperature.
Private Notes
Comments
I neither soak the raisins beforehand nor pre-cook the chard. Starting the stems earlier makes sense, but just add the uncooked leaves with a bit of water still attached and the raisins will soak it right up. I also add 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar before serving.
I agree, I never soak the raisins or pre-cook the chard. This is one of our favorite ways to cook up Swiss Chard. It is so pretty with the different color stems.
One of my favorite leftovers - cold with a bit of goat cheese.
I used dried cranberries instead of currants or raisins. The cranberries' tart/sourness played off the sautéed garlic and toasted pine nuts nicely. Together they all enlivened (without overwhelming) the distinctive flavor of the chard. I served the vegetable dish over plain, lightly buttered couscous with a few slices of cold, leftover roasted turkey breast that had been marinated with a dry mustard, rosemary, garlic, sea salt and black pepper paste tucked under its skin.
This is SOOOOO good. I believe it must be a take on the traditional Italian preparation for escarole…? That usually includes Arborio rice. I agree with the comments about simplifying things: - sauté garlic with pine nuts and raisins (I also added anchovy paste and some crushed red pepper flakes, and if you’re doing the Italian escarole version, you’d add some Kalamata olives here) - added chard stews and a pinch of salt, cover, cook 3-5 minutes to tenderize stems - add leaves (if any kind, chard, spinach, arugula), cook until buttery soft. - add a can of chickpeas with leaves for a full meal Eat with rice or polenta, garnished with Parmesan or feta.
Contrary opinion, but pre-cooking the chard is worth it! I have made this both ways: pre-cooking the chard and skipping it, and the pre-cooking makes the chard so deliciously silky. The dish is still perfectly tasty without it, but those few extra minutes to blanch the chard (or other greens, I've used kale and spinach too) makes this something very special. I also add a splash of sherry vinegar at the end for a bit of acidity.
This is an excellent recipe. Blanching the chard leaves and then refreshing in cold water preserves their color and flavor, and their texture in the dish. I heated a small Pyrex glass bowl of water in the microwave and added my golden raisins to it . I had to substitute walnuts for the pine nuts, which were not to hand. People loved it!