Swiss Chard!

This week we had Swiss chard in our CSA, another veggie I am not really familiar with, and yet another reason we originally wanted to get the CSA.  Using Epicurious I tried to figure out what sounded good and practical to make for a weekday meal when I stumbled upon a delicious side dish recipe with Swiss chard, raisins and toasted almonds.

Ingredients

 The Necessities...

• 1/2 large onion, sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch thick (1 cup)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
• 2 pounds Swiss chard, center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped almonds with skins

To begin, I heated some olive oil in a large saute pan and tossed in my sliced onion.  This onion was another fantastic red onion from the CSA that is more like a red onion/scallion hybrid, but is delicious and pretty to cook with!  With the onion I tossed in the salt and allowed it to cooked until it softened, where I then added the paprika.

Cooking Onion...

While this was cooking away, I sliced the ribs out of the Swiss chard and gave it a rough chop.  The recipe called for 2 pounds, but I just used what I had - the leafy part probably was a bit short of the recommended 2 pounds.  Once chopped, I added it to the saute pan with the onions.

Swiss Chard

I continually stirred the chard while it was cooking down - probably for about 2 minutes - until it was wilted.  At this point I added the raisins and water and covered the pan, cooking the dish for another 7 minutes.  Once it was ready I tossed in the toasted almonds, gave it all a quick stir and it was ready to go!   

Swiss Chard Side Dish...

While I was preparing the side dish, I also had to come up with a main dish and decided to put another aspect of out CSA to good use: the Silverbrook Farm mustard.

Mustard

So, I went ahead and seasoned some chicken I had with salt and pepper and then topped generously with the mustard, which had a great vinegar taste to it. 

Coated Chicken

The chicken was on the thinner side so I cooked it in the oven for about a half hour at 375 degrees.  For the first time, the main dish and the side dished actually timed out perfectly and it was all done at the same time!

Dinner is served!

This dish was quick and easy - perfect for a weekday night.  The Swiss chard dish came together really well.  I was worried that the chard would be too bitter, but the seasoning and the cooking time really cooked the bitterness out of the Swiss chard.  The raisins and the almonds added a great flavor and texture contrast to each bite, creating a lot of interest.  While our Swiss chard ratio was off, I think adding more (or less) allows you to really make the dish your own and can easily go either way depending on what you are looking for in taste.  This side dish really dressed up a otherwise ordinary chicken dish.  The mustard, however, had a lot of flavor and texture to it making the chicken taste pretty good in its own right. 

Overall this was a great weekday meal and the side dish was a perfect way to take the Swiss chard in our CSA share and really make it something all its own.