Chard Season
A couple of recipes for those leafy greens taking over the garden
(Aug. 5, 2010) Now is the season of chard. And kale, and beet greens and other tough leafy greens that you planted optimistically a few months ago, thinking, “This will be the year I healthfully gag down mountains of green organic fibrous leaf, thereby cleaning my system and giving my skin the glow of both health and smuggery!” Chard is delicious in its place — at my 16th birthday party, I dismissed the trad cake in favor of a mountain of steaming and vinegared chard — no joke — but between anxiously awaiting the blushing of the tomatoes and taming the last of the artichokes, the deluge of leafy greens can become Niagara-like in its unrelenting cascade. I am no stranger to the sigh of satisfaction as one savors a well-massaged kale salad, or the buttery pile of chard and pine nuts next to your duck breast. Nor am I averse to the glow of self-satisfaction after dutifully choking down undersalted greens as part of a balanced locavore meal. “I grew it, so by God I’m eating it!” you grimly say as you chew your leafy cud.
But let’s lay the cards on the table. By day umpteenth of trying to wade your way through the accusingly overgrown greens that threaten to envelop the fava beans if you don’t eat them, a certain ennui creeps in. Maybe in some dark recess of your heart you secretly hope the slugs might get ‘em. “Oh no!” you say regretfully. “I was going to make another kale omelet, but goshdarn if the snails haven’t made holes everywhere! Well, I tried… .” Or of course there’s the old going-to-dinner-at-neighbors-house trick. Around this season, the bottle of Pinot Grigio one usually pops over with is supplanted by a stemmy bouquet of chard, brightly brandished like a threat. “Fresh and organic from the garden, tra-la!” you trill as faces fall.
Well, fear not, fellow gardeners or children of rabidly gardening mothers. There are a variety of ways the enterprising cook can incorporate greens. I like falafel mixed with finely chopped kale, deep-fried and served with yogurt. My friend Maryanne, mother of Ethan, makes a lovely and easy chard quiche by just mincing steamed salted chard, putting it in a prebaked savory crust, pouring eggs and cream over, topping with cheese and baking covered. Sadly my metabolism won’t allow quiche more than weekly, so in fits of desperation fueled by high iron and fiber, I have some suggestions that at the least are new ways of utilizing those leafy greens, be they homegrown or purchased in a moment of weakness at the farmers’ market because they’re so darn pretty. One has sugar, and the other is lightly fried. If that can’t make something palatable then nothing can.
This recipe was created by my father and is, to quote, “surprisingly good both flavor- and texture-wise”.
BEET GREEN RISSOLES
1 lb. fresh beet greens or turnip tops
1 egg
1/4 c. fine bread crumbs
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FOUR Comments
Comment / By Ms. Greenjeans / Aug. 10, 3:17 p.m.
We chop up all our excess chard, kale, beet greens, collards and freeze them in sandwich sized ziplocks. You can add a handful of the frozen goodies to nearly everything, especially good with scrambled eggs. Can’t get enough of those green eggs.
Comment / By Sarah / Aug. 10, 7:13 p.m.
yum. Hard to negotiate the multiple pgs for a recipe…
Comment / By Marcus Victor / Aug. 10, 7:21 p.m.
Thanks…so funny..so true..bravo/cheerio!It’s so funny when we take our goodigoodness/wholesome well intentioned selves and take our greens and smother them in mountains of butter and sugar to make them palitable! I remember choking down piles of greens thinking I would turn into some comic book super hero! Reminds me of the doggie do do’s at hurricane kates (yams fried in batter and rolled in powdered sugar) Yum!!!
Comment / By stephanie silvia / Sept. 4, 10:36 p.m.
Love the idea of a chard tart. We eat a lot of chard in my house. (Quesillas cooked on the grill w/ chard pre-cooked in a frying pan is our latest). My family found the chard cooked in the tart tasted too intense veggie, eaten right out of the oven. We found the tart tasted better the next day, room temp. The next time I made it I added a tad of salt and a scant handful of sugar into the chard mixture. I think it needs this because of the usual olive oil, and sauteed garlic and onion that usually accompanies the cooking of chard. The first time I was out of raisins but had some figs and they were a good sub but I didn’t use enough. Second time around I used plenty ofchopped figs. We all liked it lots this second way. The tart dough recipe is so easy, not a bit intimidating. I’m going to use it for berry tarts, too. Thank you.