Best Swiss Chard With Currants And Pine Nuts Recipes

SWISS CHARD WITH CURRANTS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Place the raisins or currants in a bowl and pour on hot water to cover. Soak 10 minutes and drain.
• Fill a bowl with ice water. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and add the chard. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until just tender. Transfer to the bowl of ice water and let sit for a few minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much water as you can. Chop coarsely.
• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet. Add the chard stems and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until tender. Add the pine nuts and cook, stirring, until they begin to color, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, about 1 minute or just until the garlic begins to smell fragrant. Add the chopped greens and raisins or currants and toss together until they are well coated with oil and heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve, or allow to cool and serve at room temperature.

BRAISED SWISS CHARD WITH CURRANTS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place pine nuts on a cookie sheet and toast until golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes; set aside.
• Meanwhile, coarsely chop chard stems and leaves - making sure to keep the leaves and stems separate from one another; set aside.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chard stems and reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Add currants and apple juice; stir well to combine. Cover skillet; cook for 5 minutes more.
• Add chard leaves to skillet in 3 batches, mixing well between each batch; cover and cook until leaves are tender, stirring halfway through, about 6 to 7 minutes.
• Remove skillet from heat and sprinkle with salt and vinegar; stir to combine. Serve sprinkled with pine nuts.
• Yields about 3/4 cup chard and 1 1/2 teaspoons pine nuts per serving.

SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Slice the stems into 1-inch pieces and reserve. Stack the chard leaves into a pile. Roll together into a bundle and slice into 1/2-inch ribbons.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon and saute until browned, rendering the fat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes and the chard stems, cook for 3 to 4 minutes and then season with salt and pepper.
• Begin to add the chard ribbons in batches. Once the chard wilts down, add the next batch. Stir occasionally until completely tender, about 5 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and serve.

SWISS CHARD TART WITH GOAT CHEESE, CURRANTS, AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Defrost the puff pastry slightly and unroll it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a paring knife to score a 1/4-inch border around the edge of the pastry. Make an egg wash by whisking one egg yolk with 1/2 teaspoon water, and brush the egg wash along the border. (You will not need all of the egg wash.) Chill the puff pastry in the freezer until ready to use.
• Tear the chard into large pieces.
• Heat a large sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the shallots, and the thyme. Sauté a few minutes, and add half the Swiss chard. Cook a minute or two, tossing the greens in the oil to help them wilt. Add the second half of the greens, and season with a heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of black pepper. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring frequently, until the greens are tender.
• Spread the greens on a baking sheet or platter to cool. (You may want to put them in the refrigerator, so they cool more quickly.) When they've cooled, squeeze the excess water out with your hands.
• Place the ricotta, remaining egg yolk, and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Purée until smooth, and remove to a mixing bowl. Gently fold in the crème fraîche, and season with a healthy pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Spread the ricotta mixture on the puff pastry inside the scored border. Crumble half the goat cheese over the ricotta, arrange the greens on top, and sprinkle the remaining goat cheese over the tart. If you aren't ready to bake, cover the tart with plastic and chill.
• Bake the tart for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. Check underneath the tart to make sure the crust is really cooked through (if you under-bake the tart, it will be soggy).
• Cool a few minutes, and then transfer the tart to a cutting board. Spoon some of the currant-pine nut relish over the tart and serve it on the cutting board at the table. Pass the remaining currant-pine nut relish in a small bowl for anyone who would like a little more.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Toast the pine nuts for about 8 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they're golden brown and smell nutty.
• Heat a small sauté pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Turn down the heat to medium, and add the olive oil, rosemary, and chile. When the rosemary and chile start to sizzle, add the onion and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Turn the heat down to low, and let the onions stew gently for about 10 minutes, until tender. Transfer to a small bowl to cool and discard the rosemary sprig and chile.
• While the onion is cooking, place the currants in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let the currants soak for 10 minutes, and then drain well.
• Add the balsamic vinegar to the pan the onions were in, and reduce it over medium-high heat to a scant 1 tablespoon. Stir the reduced vinegar into the onion mixture.
• Add the toasted pine nuts, currants, and parsley to the onion mixture, and stir to combine. Taste for balance and seasoning.
• Assemble the tart in the morning, cover, and refrigerate. Bake just before you're ready to serve. You can make the currant-pine nut relish in the morning.

BRUSCHETTA WITH SWISS CHARD, PINE NUTS AND CURRANTS

Steps:

• Place 1/4 cup currants in small bowl. Add enough warm water to cover currants. Soak 20 minutes. Drain well. Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant and pale golden, about 1 minute. Add Swiss chard. Sauté until chard is wilted and tender, about 5 minutes. Mix in pine nuts and currants. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
• Arrange bread in single layer on baking sheet. Bake bread until golden, about 5 minutes. Brush remaining 1 tablespoon oil over bread slices. Top with warm chard mixture, dividing equally. Arrange on platter and serve.

SAUTEED SWISS CHARD WITH RAISINS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Wash chard, leaving some water clinging to stalks and leaves; set aside. In a large saucepan with a lid, toast the pine nuts over medium-high heat, shaking pan to brown evenly, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from pan; set aside.
• In same saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add stalks, and cook until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add leaves, raisins, and garlic. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until tender, 6 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Pull lid back slightly, and tilt pan to pour off water. Stir in vinegar and pine nuts; season with salt and pepper. Serve.