Tuna Toast

Swiss Chard Gratin



I purchased some gorgeous Swiss chard at the Alhambra Farmer's Market last weekend. It's ruby red color makes it one of the most beautiful veggies around, doesn't it?? I buy it often but always make it the same way- lightly blanch the stems, then toss those in with the torn leaves and sauté with olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. It's delicious and brings out the natural flavor of the chard, but I wanted to try something different and vaguely recalled seeing something about a gratin on a blog some time back. Since I didn't have a recipe, I kind of just made it up and viola! I think a new favorite side dish has been born.



After chopping and blanching the chard (blanch the stems for about 5 minutes, then add the leaves for about another 3-4 minutes), I squeezed out the excess water and started on a béchamel sauce. I wanted to make a healthier version of the rich sauce since I didn't want to coat such a healthy veggie in loads of fat. It's always risky to try and create lower fat versions of foods like this, but I thought what the hell, may as well try it. I used a tablespoon of Smart Balance spread, melted that along with some minced garlic, added one tablespoon of flour to make a roux and then slowly added 1/2 cup of fat free half and half, a pinch of salt and pepper and stirred until it became nice and thick. After taking it off the heat, I mixed in a half an ounce of finely grated, GOOD quality (it's key!) Parmigiano Reggiano and then added my blanched, chopped chard and stems and mixed well. I divided up the mixture into three ramekins and lightly topped each with a sprinkle of panko and grated parmigiano reggiano and baked at 425 for 15 minutes.

béchamel sauce

Ready for the oven.......

Bubbling, crisp top.......

It came out pink (the color from the red chard bled into the béchamel!) and bubbling. In addition to this dish I made a seared steelhead trout with a tomato/basil/balsamic salsa and olive oil/sea salt-roasted asparagus for dinner. The Swiss chard gratin was creamy and delicious- it's quite surprising how well the béchamel goes with a leafy, green veg like chard. I think it'd be a great little appetizer served with crackers and wine; in a larger portion a great vegetarian main dish. I'm guessing that kale or another sturdy leaf veggie would also work in this dish.

Swiss chard gratin, steelhead trout with tomato/basil/balsamic salsa and roasted asparagus.........

On that note-have a great holiday weekend! Also, I'll link to my previous post on questions regarding Greece and Lisbon in case anyone happens to think of any advice to give us for an upcoming trip.