Honey Garlic Swiss Chard

Swiss Chard is a wonderful leafy green, with a bright red stalk veining throughout. High in iron, Vitamin C, fiber, LOADED in antioxidants, and phytonutrients unique to vegetables with the red/purple pigmentation, this is a hearty and healthy green to give a go. Raw Swiss Chard is bitter in nature, and can almost have a saltiness about it. The leaves are very sturdy, and so do well cooked.

My adaptation was inspired from Food Network's Amy Thielen. She incorporated the dish to go along with a childhood favorite of mine: fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Instead of green beans or peas like I was accustomed to having with these foods, she whips out the beauty of a veggie- and all I could do was watch and salivate. Once I got my wits about me, I attempted the dish. Success! I love trying new ways of cooking, especially vegetables. People seem to have a hard time liking a variety, if any, of veggies, and it can make such a difference simply trying a different way to prepare it and play around with flavors.

The original recipe of hers calls for pine nuts, along with roasting garlic in the oven with honey for 45 minutes. I made this dish exactly as directed the first time, which tasted wonderful, but was also time-consuming, and pine nuts aren't exactly cheap. This time around, I gave it my own twist on the account my husband and I were already starving and did not have pine nuts, either.

 

Guess what? I cut out over an hour of prep/cook time, and it was still AMAZING. Instead of butter, I simply used a little more olive oil to save a few calories, and used pistachios in place of the pine nuts. I didn't chop up the nuts or the garlic, because I found the fun part of this dish is biting into the meatiness of the garlic and loved the crunch. The flavors are simply out of this world.

2 bundles cooked down to this!

Ingredients

2 Bundles fresh Swiss Chard
2 T honey
3 T Olive Oil
2 Bulbs Garlic
2 T pistachios *or pine nuts
Salt/Pepper to taste

Directions

Cut "lids" out of the garlic bulbs, leaving skin on. In a microwave-safe bowl: Pour 2 T honey and 1 T olive oil down inside the bulbs, and cover with plastic wrap. Prick wrap a couple of times to allow some steam to escape. Microwave for 90 secs. Garlic should be soft and steaming. *Caution: hot. Obviously. Remove from husks. They should "pop" right out of the bulb. Save the melted honey for the skillet.

Heat large skillet on med/6 heat. Wash and dry greens, and remove from stems/veins. *Optional: set aside some of the red stems/veins to chop and saute. Makes beautiful, red garnish. Add remaining oil to skillet, garlic cloves, pistachios and honey to skillet. If you saved any of the red stem, add that now. Add in a few leaves at a time. Use tongs to toss leaves in honey/oil mixture, adding more of the bunch as they wilt down. Leaves should be wilted and tender. Sprinkle salt and pepper.

Serve hot.

You can see the original recipe here.

ENJOY!! :))

-Ashley