Thursday, February 20, 2014

Swiss Chard and Potatoes


Serves 6
1 lb Swiss chard, washed
2 lbs potatoes (red, white, or otherwise), peeled and cut into a 1 inch dice
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbs butter or olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 spring onions, sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 Tbs beer, white wine vinegar - if necessary, to deglaze the pan, optional
Trim the Swiss chard: run a sharp knife along the both sides of the stem to remove the leaves. (Suggestion: stack 3-4 like-sized stems together and run the knife through all at once to speed things along). Chop the stems into 1/2 inch pieces.  Stack and slice the leaves into 1/4 -1/2 inch ribbons. Place potatoes in a large pot.  Cover by two inches with water.  Add 1/2 tsp salt.  Bring to a boil.  Partially cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 3 minutes.  Add chard leaves and stems. Bring back to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and partially cover again for about 10 min, or until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes and chard. Melt butter or heat olive oil in 12 inch skillet over medium heat.  Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook 1-2 minutes, or garlic is fragrant. Toss in the potatoes and chard (be careful for any sizzle due to the moisture in the potato mixture).  Stir in the green onions.  Season with salt and pepper. Cook untouched 4-5 minutes.  Stir, scraping any bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook another 4-5 minutes, or until everything is well cooked. If some of your potatoes have cooked to the bottom of the pan (heat varies between electric and gas, and when you add the moisture of the potatoes and chard, sometimes things get...sticky.  That's all fine in this dish, though - that's extra added flavor), add the optional beer or white wine vinegar now.  Stir to scrape any yummy flavorful bits from the bottom of the pan.  If your potatoes release well, you can skip this part if you'd like. Taste, and season again with salt and pepper, if necessary.
Source

No comments: