My grand-mother used to grow green Swiss chard in her garden. I therefore grew up eating a lot of Swiss chard, mostly au gratin. However, I never eat red or rainbow chard until I came to the US. They do taste differently that the white-stem chard I grew up with, but all of them are delicious. The only problem with chard is that it is extremely perishable. You have to be careful when purchasing chard and you can't keep it in your fridge for too long...The last bunch we bought was not really fresh and I had almost forgotten about it in the fridge. I was also tired of cooking them "au gratin" (I'll make one to post on this blog though, because it's really good!)... so I decided to make a soup with chard. I went online to get a few ideas but I found the recipes too complicated or calling for ingredients I did not have. This recipe is therefore of my own creation, made with what I had available that evening. The result was really good! It passed my children (and husband) test! Another good recipe to make again in the future. Bon Appétit!
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of Swiss chard, cut in small pieces
- 1 clove of garlic, sliced
- 3 small potatoes, cut in small pieces
- 1 yellow squash, cut in small pieces
- Olive oil, salt and fresh black pepper.
My personal comments:
- In a large pot , saute the garlic in olive oil together with salt
- Add the chard, squash and potatoes, saute until coated in oil
- Add 3 cups of water and simmer for 10-15 minutes (until potatoes are cooked)
- Scoop the vegetables and reserve the cooking water
- Blend the vegetables and add the cooking water to appropriate consistency
- Add fresh black pepper to taste
- Serve with crème fraîche and toasted bread.
- I have come to add zucchinis (or here yellow squash) in soups because they add smoothness to the texture.
- I use a pressure cooker to cook this soup. With the pressure cooker, the soup cooks in less than 7 minutes.
- I also use an immersion blender when I know there is enough water: it's faster to blend and requires less dish washing than using a stand-alone blender.
- If I only cook soup for dinner, I add couscous or pasta to make it more nutritious for my children.
Posts
Hi - When I store veggie in my fridge, they dry very quickly. What happens? How to store them?
ReplyDeleteLes gratins de côtes de bettes sont très bons; j'en ai fait l'expérience chez la grand mère de Gaëlle.
ReplyDeleteJ'attends avec impatience de gouter la soupe de Gaëlle...
Un "gastronome" de Dijon(France).
Oh my goodness! My father in law planted our garden years back and he planted Swiss Chard. This was the first time I'd heard it. He passed away in 1995 and every time I think of swiss chard I think of him.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the pleasant reminder this evening.... and the soup looks great to top it off!
In response to Francois regarding storing vegetables in the fridge, I'll say that 1) the best way to keep them fresh longer is to take them out of plastic bags and wrap them in an old newspaper or in cloth "mesh" bags. 2) Know your veggies and plan to eat the most perishable ones first (for instance Swiss chard, watercress, lettuce, etc.) 3)Unless you live in a place where it's always hot and humid, you can keep your potatoes, onions outside of your fridge in a dry place. 4)If some vegetables start to go bad, use them in a soup or puree (same with fruits : you can always make apple/pear sauce).5) Make an inventory of your fridge every other day to make sure you know what you have and plan your next meals accordingly. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteBah y a pas de bettes ici... But we are making a lot of leek soup these days! Eleonore loves it!
ReplyDeleteJust made this soup. Delicious! Charderific.
ReplyDeletethis looks great. always looking for more ways to consume leafy greens. the boys won't eat much of it as a side, so it needs to be "in" something! love the green of this soup!
ReplyDelete