home

Recipe

Red chard with pickled stems

30 min • 2 to 4 servings •
David
Plate of sautéed Swiss chard with vibrant red stems on a wooden table, ready to serve.

I probably have this all wrong, but I don’t care. This was one of my culinary triumphs.

The challenge with chard comes from the fact that the leaves are wonderfully tender and cook in a minute or two while the stem is tougher, more earthy and requires longer cooking. Keep them attached, don’t expect a decent result.

In a fancy restaurant recently I ate the best chard I have had. I found out the chef’s secret was removing and pickling the stems and adding them back to the cooked leaves. Brilliant, I thought.

I rushed to the market, bought some chard, promptly removed the stems and… well, how the heck do you pickle a chard stem?

With dinner fast approaching (and clearly no time for sterilizing jars and all that jazz), I thought on my feet and the result I share with you here.

Perhaps I am wrong to use the word “pickle” in the recipe. But I am claiming it nonetheless. It’s as good as the restaurant’s version…

… well, almost.

Ready

  • A bunch of red chard
  • Cider vinegar (because it is what I had in my pantry)
  • Brown sugar
  • Water
  • Butter
  • Salt

    • Set

  • Small saucepan
  • Big saucepan (or large frying pan)

    • Go!

  • Remove the stalks from the chard.
  • Slice them into finely (little half-moon strips across the grain, so to speak).
  • Heat about ⅓ cup of vinegar with double the amount of water and a several heaped teaspoons of sugar (more if you like it sweeter).
  • When the sugar has dissolved, add the chard stems.
  • Bring to the boil and then simmer for five to ten minutes and remove from the heat. (I left the stems sitting in the liquor while it cooled.)
  • Make sure the chard leaves are clean and dry. Cut them into strips, maybe an inch wide.
  • Heat a big knob of butter in the pan and, when it is bubbling, add the leaves. Stir till they are all coated with butter.
  • Add a little salt, cover and let them wilt for about a minute or two.
  • Strain the stems and add them to the leaves along with maybe a tablespoon of the pickling liquor.
  • Taste, season, serve (and add another knob of butter if you are feeling decadent).

    • Recommendations

    This recipe is open to experiment and suggestion. Comments required!

    chard red chard vegetable

    From Our Table to Yours

    Explore the Moments That Matter Most

    Discover Stories