Sautéed Swiss Chard With Bacon

Sautéed Swiss chard tastes absolutely amazing with mushrooms, sausage, leeks, onions, potatoes – one at a time, or generously all together. Better than anything on this list, is Swiss chard with strips of streaky bacon. It is simple, it is home-style and it is bound to become your new, healthy comfort food. The reason being that the combination of nutrients, the textured greens and bacon grease is quite irresistible. You’ll have to try it to love it – and it only takes about 20 minutes, so, what are you waiting for?

If you aren’t familiar with Swiss chard, here are the basics: chard is a leafy, cool season vegetable with bright colored stalks of yellow, red, white, pink, purple or orange. It is similar to spinach, with a more mild flavor, and the key to cooking Swiss chard is to chop up the stalks and add them to the pot first, then add the bite-size leaves, as the chard ribs require a longer cooking time. If you are buying in bulk, you can blanch the leaves and stems, then store in the freezer for a quick-to-fix meal.

Swiss chard is a wonderful, often overlooked leafy green to add to your meals. It has a wealth of minerals including magnesium, manganese, potassium and iron – you might even enjoy it with a side of pan-fried garlic chicken livers. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar to your sautéed Swiss chard and dinner is ready to eat.

Sautéed Swiss Chard and Bacon Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 large bunch Swiss chard
• 2 bacon slices, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Chop the stems and leaves of the chard into bite size pieces, keep separate.
2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the bacon to the skillet and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until bacon is browned.
4. Remove the bacon from the skillet, reserve for later, and add the garlic to the pan.
5. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, then add the Swiss chard stems.
6. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, then add in the leaves and stock. Season to taste.
7. Continue cooking until nicely wilted, about 4 minutes.
8. Toss in the bacon, mix well and serve.