I have posted this recipe before.  The first time, it was buried in a very long rant about home-made mayonnaise and it occurs to me that not everyone who might like this excellent, simple recipe is as interested in home-made mayonnaise as I am.  Also, this is probably my favourite food.  It is definitely the food that I eat the most.  I buy at least four bunches of swiss chard a week and I eat it all!  My husband eats some, but mostly its me.  I eat this for breakfast with my eggs (poached with home-made mayonnaise, in my omelets, mixed with a scramble and served with potato pancake).  I make it into gluten-free pasta with greens, goat cheese and oregano.  I serve it as a side dish with pork chops or a potato gratin for dinner.  Sometimes I just eat it with a baked yam (my other favourite food).  So I thought it was worth re-posting.  In general I like to mess around with food…mix it up…transform it.  Swiss chard is food that I love in simple form.

SIMPLE SWISS CHARD

• 1 pat of butter or a tablespoon of  good olive oil
• 1 red onion, peeled, sliced in half and then cut into half moons
• 1 bunch of swiss chard
• some salt

1. Heat the butter in a large heavy pan with a lid over medium-low heat.
2. Add the onions and a bit of salt.  Cover the onions and let them sweat while you clean the swiss chard.
3. Wash the swiss chard thoroughly.
4. Cut the stems away from the leaf by making a sharp v shaped cut up one side of the stem and down the other.  
5. Slice off the thick end of the stem and discard it.  In the winter when chard is tougher you will need to discard 2 to 3 inches of the stem as it will be stringy. In the Spring when chard is tender you can trim off just the very tip.
6. Slice the stems thinly like celery and add them to the stewing onion.
7. Slice the leaves as small or large as you wish and leave them to drain in a colander until the stems are cooked.
8. When the stems are cooked, add the swiss chard leaves to the pot, and cover again.  Turn the heat up to medium and let it cook until the greens are tender.

Sometimes in the winter, when the chard stems get really big and tough, I cook the leaves without the stems.  I make the stems into a delicious gratin or I make them into pasta with greens, goat cheese and oregano.