Tried it on pasta? We experimented with a large batch last night. Wife sauteed in olive oil, chopped garlic, fresh ground pepper when it was done she tossed in a quart jar of our crushed tomatoes, heated it thoroughly and served it on spaghetti pasta. Fantastic. Bet it would work well with fettucini and even in lasagna too.

We planted the Bright Lights variety this year and all the different colors make an attractive dish.

Dave

We use it just as we would use spinach. We put it in salads, cook it with chopped up bacon, in a freatta, add it to soup or stews. You can use the stalk just as you would use celery, in fact we think it tastes better then celery.

That's a great idea about the stalks! Probably a lot more nutritious than celery too eh? I have a monster chard also and was wondering if it would still be good after 1 year.

Yes yes yes all of the above. We absolutely love it and if you get that much with two plants, figure how much I get with a row that is 16 feet long.......We absolutely love it along with spinach, beet greens, collards, kale etc etc. I put it in the freezer because it is almost as good as eating it fresh and even better because I don't have to buy it. Our favorite way to eat it is just sauteed with a little garlic and sometimes I add a little onion but always a shake of hot pepper flakes.........

Impressive crop! Have you made a "Chard Pie" or quiche with chard?

Don't forget just fresh in tossed salads. I do all of the above plus soups and stir fry. I freeze it.
Look up spinach recipes and sub the chard.
I grow Bright Lights too and love the bright colors in salads. The leaves vary in color as well from almost a lime green, to dark green to burgandy. Beautiful variety.

Enjoy your bounty!

Deanna

This discussion has me a bit scared right now. I just planted a whole package of chard seeds in my garden. Neon Lights Mix. Hopefully my family will like chard!

pixie_lou - it does cook down, just like spinach. So you do need quite a good bagful for four people. Also it stands well for ages so it's not a big problem if you have planted a lot.

Last lot I used was in savoury pancakes with cheese sauce.

I just put in six plants tonight. It is my first time growing it but if my family doesn't like it I may find myself eating lots of chard. Thanks for the ideas!

Has anyone tried a spinach dip?Seems like that might bee good. It seems as though my taste buds prefer it mixed with garlic or onions and cooked or blanched. At least, when it's growing too large in warmer weather, which it is in Phoenix, right now.
I made a great dish with fava beans, tomatoes, galic and chard. I used even the stalks, long cooked and the dish was wonderful.
I just don't like it plain or without being cooked. I need to add garlic, onions and maybe peppers to enjoy. I think the fava bean slight bitterness went well with it.
May try some stuffed chard this week, or chard with beans.
We do like kale better but the chard is more heat resistant and lives through the summer in the shade here in Phoenix so that makes it pretty special. It's not nearly so strong tasting in winter and in fact, in it's shady bed, doesn't grow like this until it starts getting pretty hot, either.
Right now, it looks like a huge rhubarb bush.

There is a dish we make with smoked meat, onion, peanut butter, hot sauce, and greens - Swiss Chard being a favorite. Basically chop and mix it all up, the peanut butter and water from the chard form a sauce, and eaten with some starch like rice or polenta.

That may not be the most appetizing descriptive, but its pretty good stuff.

Some great ideas here!

We use it finely shredded as a pizza topping. It does tend to dissapear so use a lot!

I use it as a filling in frittatas.

Instead of spinach in vegetarian lasagne.

finely shredded in tacos and salads.

When I make my own pasta (chard fresh pasta - substitute cooked chard puree instead of the eggs-water)

Now if the squirrels would just let me have some....

"Have you made a "Chard Pie" or quiche with chard?"

Yes. It's my favorite way to use chard.

Jim

The quiche sounds lovely. We've enjoyed the frittatas. Cabrita, could you share that pasta recipe?

I've only sauteed chard, with an onion, a small can of diced tomatoes, and a spoonful of brown sugar. Then finish off with a splash of red wine vinegar. That's how I learned to prepare greens in Uganda.

I used some tonight, but it was very young from small plants

I cooked small button mushrooms in 1/4 cup of olive oil and maybe a teaspoon of sesame oil, then added 3 cloves of garlic sliced thin, and toward the end of cooking I added the greens, salt and pepper and lemon. I added TrueLemon instead of lemon juice and about a half cup of fresh parmesan cheese and toasted almond slices. Added it all to cooked whole wheat pasta.

I didn't use any meat since we had eaten a Long John Silver sampler for lunch (LOL) but grilled chicken would have been nice with it. I used enough lemon to give it a nice lemony flavor.

Use the leaves instead of cabbage for cabbage rolls - much easier!