Swiss Chard and I have a had a long and difficult relationship.

Okay, so maybe it’s not that difficult: I get Swiss Chard in my CSA, I am seduced by the bright colored stems, I eat it, and it never measures up to its colorful appearance.

Until now.

The trick is pre-cooking the Swiss Chard. I can’t be bothered with true blanching, but this method appeals to my lazy nature, because for some reason, just heating one pot of water and skipping the ice water seems like so much less work. Yes, it’s just a bowl of ice water, but that’s another bowl to clean and really, these days, I will look for any and every shortcut possible. 

Dunking Swiss Chard

Dunk the Swiss Chard leaf in a pot of boiling, salted water for 15 seconds and then….

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Put it on a towel.

It takes out the crunch and mellows out the flavor. Then you get a pile of edible, colorful leaves.

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Be still my heart. Be still.

Swiss Chard Taco Rollups

 

In lieu of my normal recipe format, I am going to let my (I-phone) pictures do the talking. The reality is that we are leaving for vacation tomorrow, I’m exhausted, but I just can’t bear the thought of not sharing this recipe. It was good and so light and so perfect for summer, we made this two nights in a row. And I’m not talking eating leftovers, I am talking from scratch, made this two nights in a row. We would have it three nights in a row, but my parents are here tonight and they have still not learned to appreciate the delicacy that is tofu.

The first recipe for Swiss Chard Roll filling that I read required cooked quinoa, chopped cucumber, onion, zucchini, and jalapeno peppers.

Manatee and I agreed that was way too much work for new parents. Instead, we decided to modify our trusting Tofu Taco recipe and make our own version of Swiss Chard Taco Rollups.

Slather on some mayo to that cooked Swiss Chard leaf.

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I prefer Hellman’s mayonnaise or homemade, if that’s how you roll.

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Our main filling consisted of:

1 [1/2] jars of salsa.2 zucchini, diced1 jalapeno pepper, diced*1 can of corn, rinsed and drained16 ounces of extra firm tofu, diced

*I leave in the seeds and ribs, mainly because I am too lazy to separate them, but also because Manatee loves the spice.

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Cook the filling at Medium High for 20 minutes and then reduce to Medium Low until ready to serve. (I error on the side of cooking it as long as possible because I like to reduce the salsa down to really get the most flavor for the buck.)

Add filling to Swiss Chard leaf.

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Roll it up tight.

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Now, you could eat it right now. It’s good, but I just felt something was missing. And that something was more lettuce and spinach.

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And that is how you can truly appreciate the beauty that is Swiss Chard and make a super light, super tasty summer meal.

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What do you do with Swiss Chard?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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