Braised Swiss Chard With Raisins And Pine Nuts Recipes

SAUTEED SWISS CHARD WITH RAISINS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Wash chard, leaving some water clinging to stalks and leaves; set aside. In a large saucepan with a lid, toast the pine nuts over medium-high heat, shaking pan to brown evenly, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from pan; set aside.
• In same saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add stalks, and cook until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add leaves, raisins, and garlic. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until tender, 6 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Pull lid back slightly, and tilt pan to pour off water. Stir in vinegar and pine nuts; season with salt and pepper. Serve.

BRAISED SWISS CHARD WITH RAISINS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Tear Swiss Chard leaves into medium pieces.
• In large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
• Stir red onion in and saute for about 5 minutes or until the red onion slices are soft.
• Turn heat up to medium-high heat; add raisins and pine nuts, stir to toast the nuts.
• Add swiss chard, give it a couple of stirs to incorporate it with the other ingredients. If you are using the spinach, add it at this point instead of the Swiss Chard.
• Add water and cover the pan so the swiss chard will wilt. Usually takes about 3 to 4 minutes for this to happen. Even if you are using the spinach that you have cooked, cooled and strained of extra water - DON'T SKIP THIS STEP WITH YOUR PRE-COOKED, STRAINED SPINACH - if you skip this with your spinach, the texture will be "gummy." Trust me - I tried it.
• Put individual servings on plates, use salt and pepper to your taste and then, (my favorite part) - sprinkle with balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar.

BABY SWISS CHARD WITH BACON, PINE NUTS AND RAISINS

Steps:

• In a small sauce pan heat the sherry until just simmering, add the raisins and remove from heat. Let soak for 20 minutes, until raisins are nice and plump.
• In a medium skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
• Toast the pine nuts in the bacon fat until golden brown. Remove from skillet with slotted spoon and add to bacon on paper towel.
• Heat 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the garlic, and gently sauté for 30 seconds, just to soften. Reduce heat to medium-low and add ¼ of the chard to the skillet, season lightly with salt and cook for 3 to 5 minutes to wilt. Add another ¼ of the chard to the skillet and continue to cook until all of the chard is wilted and tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove the chard from the skillet to a bowl and cook the rest of the chard as above. If you have two large skillets you can do both batches at the same time.
• When all of the chard is cooked, return it to the skillet and add raisins, pine nuts and bacon. Cook over medium heat until warmed through and the raisins, pine nuts and bacon are evenly distributed in the chard. Season with more salt if needed and black pepper to taste.
• Serve.
• Note:.
• I found baby chard that had very tender stems. If the chard stems you have are large and tough, cut them out of the chard leaves and chopped them into 1 inch lengths. Blanch them in boiling water until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes, drain, then add them when cooking the leaves.

SAUTEED SWISS CHARD WITH RAISINS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Wash chard, leaving some water clinging to stalks and leaves; set aside. In a large saucepan with a lid, toast the pine nuts over medium-high heat, shaking pan to brown evenly, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from pan; set aside.
• In same saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add stalks, and cook until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add leaves, raisins, and garlic. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until tender, 6 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Pull lid back slightly, and tilt pan to pour off water. Stir in vinegar and pine nuts; season with salt and pepper. Serve.