Recently, I had the chance to ‘meet’ colored chard, particularly red chard. They are beautiful!
Never having eaten or cooked them, I was a bit intimidated 🤭 and thus decided to cook them in the simplest way possible, especially to avoid messing things up… like making them lose color! That was my main fear!
But in the end, it went well. 😊 As you’ll see from the photos I’ll include in the procedure, even though they released a vibrant red colored water at the bottom, the chard stems retained almost all of their color.
I’m sure those who know more about food chemistry and/or cooking physics than I do (and it doesn’t take much to know more than me in both subjects!) know why. That is, they know why the color largely goes into the water and know what cooking method is recommended, or which cooking method can cause more or less color to be lost, and also know which foods or seasonings are recommended, for example, whether to add lemon or not, in short… if you know all these whys, write to me! and reveal it to me!
In the meantime, I’ll explain how I cooked my red chard, which is sautéed with garlic and chili pepper.
Now that I’ve taken this first step, I’m already thinking of a series of variations, for example, I’d like to try adding almonds and pine nuts, and then I’d like to try wrapping the leaves… I don’t know how yet, but I envision them as a wrap or stuffed package… I need to ponder on it a bit more!
For now, though, I’ve taken a first step by cooking leaves and stems separately: today I’ll tell you about the leaves, then how I cooked the stems… I’ll talk about it in the next recipe!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients
- 2 bunches Red chard
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 2 teaspoons Extra virgin olive oil
- to taste Chili pepper
Tools
- Pot
- Pan
- Slotted Spoon
Steps
Wash the chard and cut the stems at the base of the leaf to separate stems and leaves.
Place the leaves in a large pot and cook on low heat with the lid closed.
The red chard I used was quite young and cooked without adding water, just with the water left on the leaves after draining. If necessary, a little water can be added.
Cook for about 10 minutes, then scoop them with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a pan.
Chop the garlic, add the oil and chili pepper, and cook the chard for 5-10 minutes, depending on how much moisture needs to be removed and personal taste (for example, I prefer to leave them soft and not too dry).
Tips without Salt
Tip without salt: These red chards have a strong flavor that goes well with garlic and chili pepper, both excellent flavors to use instead of salt. Try it!
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Gradually decrease the salt so the palate gets used to it slowly and doesn’t notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili pepper, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my vegetable granule without salt and gomasio.
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that don’t lose flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Occasionally allow yourself a cheat. It lifts your mood and helps you persevere.
If you do not want, or cannot, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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