Red Chard with Festive Spices
Emily | Cinnamon&Citrus
Photo by Alpha Smoot
- Serves
- 4 as a side dish
The flavor of dill is oddly festive for me because my family snacks on a simple baked dilly artichoke dip with buttery Ritz crackers while cooking supper on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The flavors of dill and caraway seed in this dish give it a moody late-fall and winter essence (think Oktoberfest meets Christmas!), and the red and green coloring adds to its holiday spirit. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch of red-veined Swiss Chard
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 1/4 cup sherry (or white wine)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1.5 tablespoon dried dill
- 1/8 teaspoon (scant) freshly grated nutmeg
Featured Video
Red Chard with Festive Spices
WHO: Emily is a self-declared lifetime member of the Clean Plate Club. WHAT: A side dish that tastes -- and looks -- like the holidays. It’s a food and décor 2-for-1. HOW: Sauté caraway seeds until fragrant, then add chopped onion, celery, and chard stems to the mix. Deglaze the pan with sherry, add the chard leaves until they’re wilted, then coat everything with a cream and dill. Finish with a grate of nutmeg. WHY WE LOVE IT: Cream can weigh down a dish of delicate vegetables, but here, it makes the chard leaves velvety while mellowing the flavors of dill and caraway. And where a lot of recipes cast aside the chard stems, here, they’re the source of crunch and color.
Directions
- Step 1
Prepare the chard by washing and drying it well. Then strip the leaves from the tough stems and chop them roughly. Dice the stems and reserve.
- Step 2
In a heavy bottomed pan with a lid over medium-high heat, toast the caraway seeds in olive oil until fragrant, about one minute.
- Step 3
Add the butter to the pan, and when it's melted, sauté the onion, celery, and chard stems with a pinch of salt and pepper until soft and translucent (but not brown), 5 to 7 minutes.
- Step 4
Deglaze the pan with sherry and add the chard leaves, tossing to coat. Cover the pan and wilt the chard leaves, about 5 minutes.
- Step 5
Whip together the cream, sour cream, and dill with a big pinch of salt and a few grinds of fresh cracked black pepper. When the chard has begun to wilt, stir in your cream mixture and reduce the heat to low. Grate the fresh nutmeg over your greens, and warm through, about 2 to 3 minutes.