Sauteed Swiss Chard - Enjoying Your Greens

Happy St Patrick's Day.  Looking for a fun way to acknowledge this holiday even if you aren't Irish? I've got a couple of ideas for you.

You could always whip up this easy Pot Of Gold cake for dessert fun or create a leprechaun catcher from your recycling bin. In our family the leprechauns usually make a mess of things and turn our milk green!

I'm a big fan of cabbage, but maybe you want to try something a little different and still green for dinner. Swiss chard is an amazing green that's available right now in your grocery. The most common variety you see has brilliant red stalks (but it can come in yellow, white and pink) with dark green leaves. It's loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Eaten raw, it's pretty bitter, but sauteed it's yummy. This is my favorite recipe. And yes, the photo above IS mac and cheese from a box. You gotta have the Blue Box sometimes!

Sauteed Swiss Chard
olive oil
1 bunch of chard, stems trimmed off
1/2 sm onion, diced
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 c raisins
1/4 c pine nuts, toasted (optional)

First you need to trim the chard. Slice off the large stems and chop the stems up. Slice the leaves into large strips.

In a large skillet or wide bottomed pot with a cover, heat the oil. Add the onion, and chopped chard stalks. Sprinkle the whole lot with the paprika. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent (a couple of minutes).

Then add the chard leaves and raisins. This giant pile, will reduce down quickly as the chard cooks. Cover the skillet and let cook for around 6 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

Serve the chard with the pine nuts sprinkled over the top if desired. The mix of the sweet raisin, crunchy pine nuts and delicious chard put this dish in a class by itself.