Finally, with the heat of summer comes the wonderful abundance of vine-ripened, tree-ripened, sweet, juicy and tangy fruits! What a fruit paradise – strawberry season overlapping with stone fruits – plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines, and the all too short Bing Cherry season. Pies, cobblers, crisps, parfaits, and just plain chilled and eaten by the fistful. No wonder, with all these fabulous, candy-like treats to tempt us, that something as basic as chard gets left by the culinary wayside.
June through August is chard’s natural growing season, although, like everything else, it is available year ‘round. Now is the time that it will thrive in your garden. Here in Sonoma, where fall and winters are mild, I have even had Rainbow chard crops keep producing into the following spring, at which time they go to seed, producing six-foot-tall shoots, with thick ribbed neon-colored stalks – bright orange, bubble gum pink, sunny yellow. They aren’t very useful for food at this point, but are so colorful and unusual in the bleak winter garden that it is fun to let them keep growing.
Most people are familiar with what is know as Swiss chard, and mistakenly think that it is so named because Switzerland is its place of origin. Actually, it was a Swiss botanist, a Dr. Loch, who determined the scientific name for the plant (Betas vulgaris var. cicla) and was honored by having the common name for the plant bear his country of origin. Chard is actually native to the Mediterranean, which is why it grows so well here. It is in the same family as beets, and both of their leaves have a similar appearance and taste. The basic difference is that beets form a bulbous root, and chard puts its energy into leaves.
One of the most nutritious of the leafy green vegetables, high in vitamins A, K and C, and many minerals, it is a perfect way to start a healthy summer garden. Chard is very easy to grow, and usually is pest-free. Most nurseries carry six packs of chard in late spring, early summer. Plant them in full sun and keep moist not soggy. Once the plant is well established, and the leaves are 6- 10 inches long, you can harvest them by cutting from the outside of the cluster. To ensure that the plant keeps producing, take care not to injure the center bud.
Whether you chose the Bright Lights Rainbow chard, Green (Swiss) chard or Red chard, they are all very decorative with either white, red, magenta, yellow or orange stems and veins against a deep green and sometimes reddish leaf. Being so attractive, as well as sturdy, makes them ideal for lining bowls for summer salads, or to line a basket for crudité. Once lightly blanched, the leaves can be used instead of grape leaves or cabbage leaves for wrapping rice or meat or vegetable fillings. It is also a simple rich side dish when thinly sliced, sautéed in olive oil and garlic. For those foggy summer days, it is tasty tossed in at the last minute, just so it wilts, to your favorite hot soup.
So whether for the brilliant colors or the nutritional boost, chard is great for the summer garden.
This is a wonderfully simple and flavorful (as well as colorful!) summer side dish, that actually is tasty at any time of the year.
Rainbow Chard with Slivered Almonds and Golden Raisins
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 thick piece of crusty sour dough bread, cut into bite sized cubes
3 TBS olive oil
1/4 cup slivered raw almonds
1 and 1/4 pound rainbow chard leaves, cut into 1” strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Kosher salt and 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Put the raisins in a bowl. Heat the sherry and pour over the raisins, leaving them to plump about 10 minutes.
Toast the bread in 2 TBS of the oil till golden. Set aside. Fry the almonds in the remaining oil until just light golden, add the chard.
Add garlic and cook over medium heat until wilted. Drain the raisins, and toss in. Serve while hot, topped with croutons.
Linda Gilbert is the owner, along with her husband Tom Romano, of Broadway Catering and Events. She has worked in all phases of restaurant work, from front of house to sous chef; owned a cookie company; taught cooking classes; and written for Sally’s Place on the Internet. Next to cuisine-based travel (recently Thailand, Italy and Mexico), her love is gardening – thus her membership in the Sonoma Valley Grange, the Ecology Center and serving on the board of the Sonoma Valley Slow Food Convivium.
