Like the most loyal of friends, chard is always there for you, giving and forgiving. It sprouts quickly in the spring, is much more heat-resistant than spinach, much less needy of rich soil and much more tolerant of heat and cold. Yet, in our flawed human way, we tend to take for granted what is always there, week after week, in the farmers market stands and on grocery store shelves. 

As markets burgeon with summer’s abundance, don’t overlook the chard!  It is a perfect vegetable—a low-calorie, high-vitamin green with a mildly sweet and earthy taste. One of the simplest, cleanest, most satisfying vegetables around—rich in nutrition, and beautiful too. Chard can easily be over a foot long, with thick, crunchy stalks of every hue, from ruby red to magenta to bright yellow to hot pink to light green to white.  These chards of many colors were noted in the earliest written records of Arabs, Greeks and Romans. Aristotle mentioned red chard around 350 B.C., and Theophrastus noted two kinds—the white, called Sicula (from Sicily) and the black (or dark green) variety. From the technicolor stalks, wide leaves fan out, smooth or curly depending upon the variety.

Both stalks and leaves are delicious, and there is no reason, particularly in these economic times, to discard the stems as many American recipes instruct. French or Italian recipes often instruct you to use the stems and reserve the leaves for another purpose. That “other purpose” was revealed by the great food writer Richard Olney who wrote in Simple French Food (1977) that “the green leafy parts…are usually fed to the rabbits and the ducks.”

I’m sure they make a fine treat for rabbits and ducks, but I recommend the obvious—eat the chard, stems, leaves and all!  Chard is truly a quick and easy vegetable to prepare. It takes only moments to blanch it in boiling water, or to sauté in olive oil with garlic. Then use it as a pizza topping, toss into pasta with olive oil, add to omelets and frittatas, or use in place of spinach in any recipe. 

Beautiful and benevolent, kind and caring, flexible and forgiving, nurturing and sustaining…what more could you ask for in a true friend?  

Sauteed Chard, Pure and Simple
1 bunch (about 1 pound) chard (any color)
2 Tb olive oil
1 Tb lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Slice stems on the diagonal about 1/2 inch wide. Coarsely slice leaves.
2. Heat 1 Tb olive oil in a wide casserole or pan. Stir in stems, cover, and cook over low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add leaves and stir. Cover and cook over moderate heat until tender, another 3-4 minutes.
3. Remove to a serving dish and drizzle with remaining oil and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper if desired. Serves 2.

Italian Chard
2 pounds (about 2 bunches) chard, rinsed, trimmed and coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic
Sea salt and hot red pepper flakes (or freshly ground black pepper)
2 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Place the chard in a large stockpot with plenty of water still clinging to it and set on medium-high heat. When the chard begins to sizzle, stir it and cover. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until chard is wilted but still has texture and the leaves have turned dark green, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Heat at least 2 tablespoons of oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until it begins to turn golden, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the chard, squeezing out some of the liquid before adding it to the oil. Cook, stirring, until the chard has wilted entirely and the garlic is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper flakes or ground pepper.
4. Remove from heat and transfer to a warmed platter. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve. Serves 4.