Recipe and Photos by Nadia Tamby

Chard is one of my favorite leafy greens – it cooks up in minutes and both the stems and leaves are tender and the red-ribbed leaves and stalks are so beautiful! It has a delicate but slightly bitter flavor – cooked it has a similar texture to spinach. I like making chard either as a side dish or a weekend brunch served with a 6-minute soft-boiled egg and a piece of toast (and a few mimosas). I had a large bunch of chard this week so I decided to split into two different dishes.

Red Chard with Garlic, Cranberries, and Apple Cider Vinegar

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 small bunch red chard, washed, trimmed and stalks cut just below the leaves
• 3 tablespoons dried cranberries or raisins
• A splash of apple cider vinegar

Instructions:

You will want to chop the stalks and cook those with the garlic as they take a little more time than the leaves. Keep the stalks and garlic separate and roughly chop the leaves.

Heat the olive oil up in a skillet on medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and chopped red chard stalks and sauté until softened and the garlic is lightly browned. Add the dried cranberries and fry until they sizzle and inflate a bit. Then add the greens and toss until they have slightly wilted but are still a vibrant green. Add a splash (about a tablespoon if you need to measure) of apple cider vinegar and turn off the heat. The greens will wilt a little more – season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Red Chard and Baby Potato Hash with Kalamata Olives

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ lb whole baby potatoes (such as Dutch yellow), washed
• 1 bunch red chard leaves, chopped
• ¼ cup chopped Kalamata olives

Instructions:

Boil the potatoes until tender. If you are serving this with an egg, remember that you can add the egg to the boiling pot with the potatoes – just be sure to set a timer! I like to drop an egg into the water just before it comes to a rolling boil (so it doesn’t get knocked on the side and leak into the water) and set a timer for 6 minutes. Immediately rinse the egg under cold water or drop it into an ice bath. You should have an egg with runny yolk but a stable white (thus easy to peel).

Drain the potatoes once tender. Heat the olive oil up in a skillet on medium heat. Add the potatoes and let them brown. You can even smash a few of them with the back of a spoon or spatula to vary the texture. Add the roughly chopped Kalamata olives and let them sizzle in the oil and dry out a little. Add the red chard greens, salt and pepper, and serve with the soft-boiled egg.