Having a grandmother is a blessing, having one who solves dinner at 7 PM is a stroke of luck. A typical call, “Grandma, I have so much chard but the stalks are long and tough, what should I do with them?” – “Listen to Grandma Sandrina and you’ll see how good the Baked Chard Stalks Casserole is.” With the leaves, however, I suggest making Chard Burger.
A dish to be served either hot or cold, it can be a side dish or a complete dinner as in my case. Simplicity is the secret of this dish and is the secret of the typical cooking of our grandmothers! My beloved Grandmothers, Licia and Sandra, never disappointed in the kitchen. Two true Marche women.
Grandmothers are wonderful, they are sweet with their grandchildren and always know how to keep secrets and memories ❤️
For me, having two grandmothers who loved cooking for their large family (each had three children with respective spouses and, of course, us grandchildren) was my childhood. The first little blue and yellow apron, the dough or batter to play with, hands covered in flour or chocolate.
My world began there and continues with my mother. But that’s another story.
Today, the story is about Grandma Sandra, the mother of Paciccio, who when asked: Grandma, what can I make with chard stalks?
responds like this: Beautiful of Grandma, boil the stalks, make a tomato with carrots, get a baking dish and with béchamel and cheese, make something good!
She doesn’t call it Casserole or Gratin of chard, for her, it is something good 😍 and good it really is, try it to believe it 😊
Do you like the Grandmother’s recipe? The blog is full of easy and anti-waste recipes, just like grandmothers do. Try for example the oven-baked cabbage with sausage recipe also by Grandma Sandra.
The Grandmother’s tricks:
– Boil the stalks for about 30 minutes, pierce with the fork. If the latter pierces without problems, then we can turn off the water, otherwise, continue cooking for a few more minutes.
– The béchamel “my dear”, even though I am the granddaughter, you have to prepare it yourself and not buy it. That one tastes like nothing.
– You have to cook the tomato for about twenty minutes in a pan with a nice sauté of onion, extra virgin olive oil, and oregano.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 2 casseroles
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 487.76 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 28.62 (g) of which sugars 13.54 (g)
- Proteins 16.87 (g)
- Fat 34.12 (g) of which saturated 12.10 (g)of which unsaturated 5.26 (g)
- Fibers 6.29 (g)
- Sodium 921.08 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 250 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for the Baked Chard Stalks Casserole
The amount of stalks obviously varies depending on how much chard you have available.
- 10.5 oz Chard
- 3.5 oz Mozzarella (in my case it was Camoscio d'Oro)
- Half package tomato sauce (bottle)
- Half Onion
- 1 Carrot
- to taste Extra virgin olive oil
- to taste Salt
- to taste Black pepper
- to taste Cheese (grated)
- 1 coffee cup White wine
- to taste Breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons béchamel
Tools to prepare the Baked Chard Stalks Casserole
- Pot
- Oven
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pan
- 1 Coffee cup
- 2 Cocotte
Preparation of the Baked Chard Stalks Casserole
Start by separating the stalks from the chard leaves, use a knife to also remove the filaments from the central part of the stalks. Wash them well with hot water and boil them in plenty of salted water. Want to know when they’re cooked? Take a fork and if you can pierce them easily, it means they’re done.
Now let’s prepare the tomato sauce. Take a pan and pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Cut the half onion and carrot not too finely; Grandma advises that the pieces should be noticeable in the sauce. At least we like it that way. Finally, put everything to sauté, and only when the onion is golden, deglaze with the coffee cup of white wine and continue cooking. When the onion and carrots are well sautéed, we will add the half bottle of tomato sauce and a bit of water. Finally, season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Alternatively, you can use marjoram or basil if you prefer.
Grandma advises, the more herbs you add, the better it is. Meanwhile, cut the mozzarella or the cheese you have into not too large pieces. Preheat the oven in static mode at 356°F.
Let’s also prepare the homemade béchamel during this time. Once the sauce is ready, we can proceed with preparing the two layers of the casserole.
Pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a teaspoon of béchamel into the two cocottes. Place the chard stalks on the bottom.
Then arrange the mozzarella, add a few tablespoons of tomato sauce, and finally a nice sprinkle of grated cheese and some breadcrumbs. I recommend a teaspoon of béchamel on each layer, just enough to bind the ingredients. Continue like this until you run out of ingredients.
Finally, sprinkle with cheese and breadcrumbs and bake for about 25 – 30 minutes. The baked chard stalks casserole can be served either hot or cold.
All that’s left is to wish you a good appetite and I’ll see you in the next recipe!
Storage:
Grandma Sandra suggests storing the Baked Chard Stalks Casserole in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap for up to a day, otherwise “beautiful of grandma” you can freeze it and keep it for up to a month, just make sure it has completely cooled down first.
Extra tip:
Grandma Sandra advises washing them in hot water because when we go to boil them, the water will take less time to cook them.
If you liked this recipe, why not also try the Spring Onion Gratin
