mmmmm... we love swiss chard, too. grows like crazy this time of the year. i grow 'sea foam chard' but christine gave me seeds for another variety... 'french'? that's done very well this winter.

try this recipe:
(i add an extra egg, and leave the chard slightly wet)

Here is a link that might be useful: swiss chard tart

Michael ~ I've made your Swiss Chard tart recipe several times now but I have changed it for mealtime use. I omit the crust, add an extra egg, plus a cup of milk. I bake it in a casserole dish. Makes great leftovers.

Hi Michael and Christine
Our pie is different than the one posted. Cheryl made it from a book of "Food in Provence". Lately, one of her favorites.
It has rum, brandy and Granny Smith apples. It is more like a dessert than savory. Crust was really flaky.
We had it with a mixed garden salad and a cumin-lime vinaigrette.

In the picture there are 3 types of chard: Italian Taglio Verde, Sea Foam and Ruby. I like them them all and often substitute for spinach in a recipe.

I love swiss chard too, we mostly eat it raw in salads. My chickens love it.

Gary

Gary
You should post some of your "secret" recipes sometimes.:o)
Like carambola, pineapple wine? They sure sound delicious!
Silvia

We had Swiss chard last night for the first time from our garden. My wife sauteed it with some olive oil and garlic...it was excellent.

Gary is the Pineapple master...didn't know about the tropical fruit wine connoisseur in him!

swiss chard... like spinach, only edible.

Yum! Love the recipes to try.

Here's mine:

Peel and blend 3-6 cloves of garlic in about a cup of water. Or chop or press... Put in a pot with a large can of tomatoes. (If you are a really good gardener, you may use fresh!) Add your chopped chard and olive oil. Cook til chard is to your liking. Serve with crusty bread, more garlic and more olive oil.

There's a great winemaking website, google jack keller winemaking. I used one of his starfruit recipes as a basis and added half a pineapple just because I had it. I'll be bottling a pure pineapple and a banana wine soon too. It's fun and cheap!

Gary

Excellent recipes everybody!
From the simple saute to the more complex flavors.
Swiss Chard is not only easy to grow but delicious, versatile and good for us.

Michael
You don't like spinach? I thought you like all vegetables!
lol

Gary
Winemaking sounds like a nice hobby. Good for you. Great use for your fruits. I had one time the best strawberry wine. I also had a "grosella" a type of sour berry, maybe like gooseberry.
And recently gardengrl let us sample her homemade wines. Exquisite!
Silvia

I am growing Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights' and it is doing fantastic! We just eat it raw in salads though. Is it really any good cooked?
Josh

jkrup44
I don't like to overcook any vegetable. I look for the color green not gray.
I just made today Swiss Chard stuffed with root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, yam, onion, garlic).
Have you ever tried stuffed grape leaves?. This is better, in my opinion.
But to make it simple, wash it and cook with the water from the leaves, till limp. This takes just a few minutes. Add salt, pepper or hot pepper, olive oil or butter. A perfect side dish that takes only few minutes to make.

Enjoy your Bright Lights Swiss Chard!
Silvia

I am going to give it a try. I love stuffed grape leaves, so I think this should be a winner. Thanks.

Beautiful chard!

Have any of you tried the stems? Some of my cook books treat chard stems as a separate veggie.

Bill

Hi Bill
The recipe that I tried today cooks the chopped stems together with the other vegetables for about 20 minutes.
The leaves are then blanched, dried with a towel and stuffed with the vegetable mixture.

When I cook Chard the fast way, I first sauteed the chopped stems with a little bit of olive oil and garlic. Then add the coarsely shredded or chopped leaves. Add salt and pepper.

When I make Chard for Cheryl she likes her sauteed in olive oil and butter, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. And I add pine nuts and sultana raisins. She eats this as a snack.

Silvia

yeah, in the huge world of veg and fruit, i take exception at one thing: raw spinach. vile, unholy thing.

Some of that looked a lot like beet greens to me. Then again, I think Swiss chard is essentially the same plant just different accentuated characteristics.

Very pretty anyway

My favorite part of that chard soup is the meaty stems.

ill, that's funny, I love a raw spinach salad. I prefer it over regular lettuce.

Gary

Thanks for the ideas, Silvia. I'm going to pick some chard today and give the saute a try.

Bill

Bill, sometimes I add a citrus note to the dish. I add a splash of lemon or lime at the end of the cooking.

I'm growing chard for the first time this season (how I missed this delicious veg for so long is beyond me.) Like so many of my other greens I'm starting some seeds indoors. But I've read some comments that chard shouldn't be and should be directly sowed. Any reasons? I know swiss chard is in the beet family but they don't have any bulbs to be a problem in transplanting.

jackinthecountry
You are not alone. My daughter told me me that her friend asked her what she had for lunch. When she said Chard. They said what?!!!

I don't think you will have trouble transplanting it. I think it only applies to beet, even in the same family is a root.

Good luck with your Chard, you will love it!
Silvia

oh, and, i discovered that the rule 'you can't transplant beets' is total hooey. i did it this year with great results!

jackinthecountry---I see that you are in zone 6. When I lived in Mass. I used to direct sow the Swiss chard seeds and they grew great. Down here in Fla. I find that starting the seeds in a container and then planting the seedlings in the ground the better way to go. There is a very good possibility that direct sowing will work very well for you.

Silvia told me about a very good article about Swiss chard in this month's Mother Earth News Magazine. I bought one recently and I also found an excellent article about cabbages in it too. Thanks Silvia for telling me about that magazine.

Christine

Good harvest Michael!

Christine, any good tips that I hear, you will be the first to know.:o)

Silvia

Okay I'm convinced! That looks so yummy. I love sauteed spinach with just a little salt pepper and barely a splash of really good vinegar but it sounds like chard blows spinach out of the water (or tugboat- sorry Popeye)but stuffed swiss chard leaves?! I am there. I love stuffed grape leaves and cabbage - dolmades or halupkees anyone? What a good idea Silvia. All of the other ideas are great as well. I really like threads featuring a certain veggie with recipes and hints and experiences growing them. I'm going to plant a couple of window boxes (like 8 x 18) this weekend with chard. Any recommendation on variety? I know HD sells Burpee's Bright Lights and another less colorful but more greens looking variety. I'm excited to see how it goes. As long as I can keep the squirels from digging them all out... :o)

Hi mizadventure
I planted Swiss Chard in the winter months. The one pictured was planted on February 2.
I like all varieties of this wonderful vegetable, any choice is a good choice.
I still have some in the garden, it is getting a little bit of shade from a maple tree.
We are coming to the hot season, time to plant crops that can stand the heat and humidity, unfortunately Swiss Chard is a cool season crop. You will have to wait for the cooler temperatures to be successful with this vegetable.
Silvia

tcynlx: Years ago when I lived up north, Burpee Seed Co. sold a Swisschard with red stems and called it Rhubarb chard. That's what the photo looked like to me. I grow Burpee Fordhook Hybrid Swiss Chard and it has done well in the early spring in St. Pete.

So glad to find this forum! I am a first time Swiss chard grower; it's doing great in a raised bed. Living in North Georgia, it's getting hot (90s) so my question is: how much longer can I expect to harvest the chard? I found one website that said it will produce all summer, but taste better when the temps cool again in the fall. Do I leave it in the bed, or replant come fall?

Thanks!

sjharris

If it is doing well for you, by all means take advantage of it. When you see it decline, take it out and replant it again, when it gets cooler.

When they said it produces all summer, they are probably talking about places where summers are moderate, and not too hot and humid.

We are enjoying different crops now, that do well in the heat...

Silvia

Thanks Silvia. i have already pulled out the spinach and most of the lettuce, so I'll enjoy the chard as long as I can and then remove it too.