Isn’t life swell when everyone works together? The same is true for food. Creating the perfect dish is all about taking different flavor components and bringing them together in perfect harmony.
Harmony, of course, is achieved by combining the four basic tastes: bitter, sweet, salty and sour. Here, Swiss chard is sauteed with wine soaked raisins, crispy bacon and a splash of lemon juice. The result is stunningly complex but the recipe couldn’t be easier.
Swiss Chard with golden raisins and bacon
- Fry 3-4 pieces of bacon until they’re crispy. After they cool, crumble them into bite size pieces. Set aside.
- Boil a cup of dry white wine and pour over a cup of golden raisins. Let them steep until you’re ready to use them.
- Remove the stems from 2 bunches of swiss chard and boil them salted water for 3-4 minutes, until cooked through. Strain the stems and put them in an ice bath. Remove them from the ice bath and dice into half inch pieces.
- Saute the Swiss chard in some olive oil, adding more chard as the leaves wilt. Add the stems to the pan and sprinkle everything with kosher salt.
- Add the raisins and half of the wine to the pan.
- Squeeze a few tablespoons of fresh lemon juice into the pan and stir to coat.
- Add the crumbled bacon.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
This looks delicious! I have a huge bunch of kale in the frigde… do you think it would work just as well with that?
I’m glad you like! Since kale is bitter like Swiss chard, the flavors will pair really well. The only difference is that kale doesn’t shrink down as much as chard so instead of doing a saute, I’d incorporate some liquid. A good braise, simmer or steam (for 15-20 min.) will tenderize the leaves and make an awesome dish!
Love Swiss chard. I grow it in my garden in the summer and use it for soup greens especially in Italian Wedding Soup. You can also saute it lightly, add anchovies, do not cringe…, and it is sooo good as a switch to spinach when making homemade spinach pizza. Going back to Weight Watchers as we speak….
I love anchovies … they are the secret ingredient in so many of my favorite dishes. Sounds delicious with Swiss chard (love that you grow it in your garden by the way). One of these days Dustin and I will get around to having a garden of our own. Don’t diet too long, we’ll miss you around here.