EASY SWISS CHARD SOUP
02/03/12 14:22
EASY SWISS CHARD SOUP
It must be quite obvious by now that I love my greens and it is not just for their amazing nutritional properties. I love the taste! They are so versatile and can sneak their way into so many different dishes.
Today my green star is Swiss Chard. Contrary to its name, this mighty green comes from the Mediterranean. The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote about chard in the 4 century B.C. The Romans honoured chard’s medicinal properties, and to this day it is an incredibly popular vegetable in Italy.
Unlike other greens, Swiss chard gives you two textures in one. In a mature plant, you get the thick sturdy white stalk, and the green leafy part. Stalks of kale, spring greens or even older (large leaf) spinach are too tough to eat and usually just thrown away. The Swiss chard stalks are perfectly edible and very delicious. Usually the stalk and leaves are separated, and the stalk starts its cooking first, requiring couple minutes more than the leaves. The Italians sometimes cook them completely separately, treated as 2 separate vegetables. Baby chard on the other hand is cooked in the same manner as baby spinach.
My Swiss chard recipe is for a very quick and easy soup. This is a very easy way to cook Swiss chard, no need to separate stalk from leaves. Give it the right name and it will become kid friendly, I am thinking Shrek Soup or Swamp Soup. Wouldn’t it be great for Halloween with a spiderweb made from cashew cream? I will keep it in mind.
EASY SWISS CHARD SOUP
If you can’t find Swiss chard, just use spinach, it will work great in this recipe too.
Serves 4
ingredients
1 litre of vegetable stock
2 leeks
3 medium potatoes
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch of mature Swiss chard (mine was 250g, just over 1/2lb)
freshly ground black pepper
method
It must be quite obvious by now that I love my greens and it is not just for their amazing nutritional properties. I love the taste! They are so versatile and can sneak their way into so many different dishes.
Today my green star is Swiss Chard. Contrary to its name, this mighty green comes from the Mediterranean. The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote about chard in the 4 century B.C. The Romans honoured chard’s medicinal properties, and to this day it is an incredibly popular vegetable in Italy.
Unlike other greens, Swiss chard gives you two textures in one. In a mature plant, you get the thick sturdy white stalk, and the green leafy part. Stalks of kale, spring greens or even older (large leaf) spinach are too tough to eat and usually just thrown away. The Swiss chard stalks are perfectly edible and very delicious. Usually the stalk and leaves are separated, and the stalk starts its cooking first, requiring couple minutes more than the leaves. The Italians sometimes cook them completely separately, treated as 2 separate vegetables. Baby chard on the other hand is cooked in the same manner as baby spinach.
My Swiss chard recipe is for a very quick and easy soup. This is a very easy way to cook Swiss chard, no need to separate stalk from leaves. Give it the right name and it will become kid friendly, I am thinking Shrek Soup or Swamp Soup. Wouldn’t it be great for Halloween with a spiderweb made from cashew cream? I will keep it in mind.
EASY SWISS CHARD SOUP
If you can’t find Swiss chard, just use spinach, it will work great in this recipe too.
Serves 4
ingredients
1 litre of vegetable stock
2 leeks
3 medium potatoes
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch of mature Swiss chard (mine was 250g, just over 1/2lb)
freshly ground black pepper
method
- In a large sauce pan start heating the vegetable stock.
2 Slice the leeks, and wash out all the grit. Add to the stock.
3 Peel and dice the potatoes, add to the stock together with the garlic and caraway seeds.
4 Cook on medium heat for 10 min.
5 Slice up the Swiss chard, wash thoroughly and add to the soup.
6 Cook for about 8 minutes.
7 In a blender (or using a stick blender) puree the soup, season with lots of black pepper.
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