Hey, remember these books? The Good Cook Series. They’re pretty good. Pick ‘em up at your local used book seller when you run into them–usually only a couple of bucks each.
For today’s recipe, I’m using the vegetable book. A couple of weeks back I needed to pull all the chard out of my garden in order to get ready for tomato season. It was a LOT of chard and I was on the hunt for something different to do with all of it. This gratin-style dish was just the thing.
The recipe is called “Swiss-Style Chard” and while it does use quite a lot of ingredients, it’s worth the extra effort. Earthy from the dried mushrooms and chard, creamy, with hints of Gruyere and crunchy breadcrumbs on top, it really is a delightful side or would even be a good vegetarian main course.
First off, soak the dried mushrooms in warm water for about 5 minutes or so to soften them. You can use whatever mushrooms you choose, but I happened to have these shiitake on hand.
You’ll need to parboil the chard before assembling too. 5 minutes is all it takes.
Place a couple of slices of good white bread in a bowl, torn up. Pour the milk over it and let stand until the milk is absorbed.
Chop all your vegetables and get them ready to mix with the other ingredients. I’ve got parsley, celery leaves, garlic, the softened dried mushrooms, the white and light green parts of 2 leeks, and the parboiled and drained chard.
Put it all together in a big mixing bowl with the cheese, mix, and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Add the eggs.
Generously butter your baking dish, then pour in a couple of Tbsp of olive oil, spreading over the bottom of the dish.
Mix the remaining olive oil with the bread crumbs in a small bowl. Just pretend I am actually measuring the ingredients.
Put the chard mixture into the baking dish and top with the oiled bread crumbs.
Spread them out so they cover the chard evenly. Get them all the way out to the edges so that everyone gets the crispy bits.
Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
But wait! What will you serve with your Swiss-Style Chard? I can tell you what we had. Some excellent roasted chicken breasts. I don’t often buy chicken parts anymore, but my frugal hubby had bought a bunch of these bone-in chicken breasts when they were on sale and so I had a bunch of ‘em in the freezer. You can just cut up a whole chicken or use parts, whatever. Bone-in is best though, really. Trust me. And skin ON. Do not deviate.
Take your chicken parts. Dry them with paper towels, then lightly coat them in olive oil. Season with whatever you want. I used some Cajun seasoning that I got in my Christmas stocking. I thought the spicy kick would be good with the creaminess of the gratin. You can just use garlic, salt and pepper too.
Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan, skin-side down. Let cook until the chicken skin is browned. Don’t try to move them around, it’ll just screw them up. They are going to stick to the pan—until they are browned. Then they will magically release. Trust me on this.
If you are only making a couple pieces of chicken, you can place the whole pan into the oven. If you are making chicken for your two ravenous sons and hubby, then transfer the chicken pieces to a baking sheet and repeat with the browning of the chicken breasts until you have enough.
Roast the chicken at 450* for 15 minutes. It should register at 160* in the center with a meat thermometer.
Juicy, crispy, spicy chicken and creamy chard gratin. A marriage made in my kitchen. And maybe in your kitchen, too?
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Chard, Swiss-Style
recipe from The Good Cook Series: Vegetables
1-1/2 lb. chard leaves, parboiled for 5 minutes, thoroughly drained and coarsely chopped
2 slices firm, white bread with the crusts removed, broken into small pieces
1/4 cup milk
1 oz. dried mushrooms, soaked for 5 minutes in warm water, squeezed dry and finely chopped
2 leeks, white parts only finely chopped
3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley or chives
1/2 cup finely chopped celery leaves
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/3 cup grated Gruyere cheese
salt and pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
4 eggs
1 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (I used panko)
…………………………………………………
Preheat oven to 350*.
Place the bread in a mixing bowl and pour the milk over it; allow to stand until the milk is absorbed. Add the chard, mushrooms, leeks, parsley or chives, celery leaves, garlic and grated cheese. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the unbeaten eggs, one at a time, mixing will after each addition.
Butter a baking dish generously, pour in 2 Tbsp of the olive oil, spreading the oil well over the bottom of the dish. Mix the bread crumbs with the remaining oilive oil. Spread the chard mixture evenly in the dish and top with the oiled bread crumbs. Bake in a moderate oven, preheated to 350* for about 30 minutes, or until the mixture is firm and browned. Serve from the baking dish.
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Pan Roasted Chicken Breasts
6 bone-in chicken breasts
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper,
Cajun seasoning (optional)
………………………………..
Preheat oven to 450*.
Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Dry chicken with paper towels. Drizzle olive oil over the chicken and rub it all over the pieces. Season chicken with salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning.
Place chicken, skin-side down, in the hot pan. Do not move it around. Let it sit until the skin is a deep golden brown. The chicken will likely stick until it reaches a golden color, then will release. Transfer to a baking sheet, skin-side up, and roast for 15 minutes.
Chicken should be 160* when a meat thermometer is inserted into the chicken.
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