Recipe: Sweet Potato Swiss Chard Soup

This hearty but simple soup is packed full of the flavors of the fall harvest. With sweet potatoes, onions, and chard, you'll be in a fall veggie lover's dream with this easy and flavorful vegetarian soup! Just a few, simple, fresh ingredients make this a winner to make, and to eat. It's great as a side dish, or even as a main vegetarian course. Use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth for a different flavor as a non-vegetarian option.

Sweet Potato Swiss Chard Soup
(Serves 4 - 6 as a side dish.)

Ingredients:

1 large onion, coarse diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, grated
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
6 spring onions, chopped, include green tops
6 cups vegetable broth
1 lb Swiss chard, washed, trimmed, and coarse chopped
kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

• Put a big soup pot over medium heat, add the onion and olive oil and cook until onion softens, then add the garlic and cook for one minute more.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, bring to a boil, then immediately turn heat to low and simmer gently for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are all tender. 
• Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed, and serve hot.

Recipe: Parmesan Baked Swiss Chard Stems

If you’ve ever admired the beauty of Rainbow Swiss chard and wondered what could be done with those fabulous looking stems, look no further. Here’s a recipe adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen. It's super-simple, and super delicious!

Parmesan Baked Swiss Chard Stems

Ingredients:

Swiss chard stems (about 2 bunches), cut in 2-3" pieces
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil for misting
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 400 F.
• The stems are quite hard, so they need to be softened before baking them. Place them in a pot with boiling water and boil for about 5-6 minutes. 
• Drain the water and place the stems on a baking tray, sprayed lightly with olive oil. 
• Spray stems with an olive oil mister, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Parmesan or other hard cheese.
• Bake in a 400 F oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. 
• Serve warm and eat as an appetizer or as an accompaniment with your meal.

Recipe - Swiss Chard Italian Lasagna

Here is a classic, with a healthy twist. Swiss Chard packs a load of nutrients into this delicious, hearty meal even the kids will love. This is a great one for the cooler fall evenings, when we are craving a big plate of comfort food. Homemade lasagna takes a bit of preparation, but the results are well worth it!

Image via WikipediaSwiss Chard Italian Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 lb lasagna noodles, uncooked
8 oz sweet Italian sausage
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp chopped sun dried tomatoes, soaked in 4 Tbsp water
2 tsp dried crushed basil
4 cups (32 oz) tomato sauce
1/4 cup good dry red wine
1 large bunch fresh Swiss chard, trimmed, coarse chopped, washed
1 lb Ricotta
1 lb Mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a lasagna baking pan (about 9 1/2 x 14 if you have one; if not a 9x13.) Note: You are using UNcooked noodles in this lasagna.  There is plenty of liquid to cook the noodles right in the dish.

Prepare the sauce:  Break up or cut up the sausage small and put in skillet over medium-high heat and brown.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onion, cooking until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes, along with the liquid they soaked in, and the basil, stir and cook for 1 minute.
Add the tomato sauce and red wine, bring just to a bubble, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.

Prepare the Swiss chard:  After trimming off all the stems, washing and chopping, wilt the leaves by quickly stir-frying them in a large skillet with a drizzle of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Do not over cook, just cook until beginning to wilt, then remove and let drain in colander. (Do this in two batches if your skillet is too crowded.)

Put together lasagna in pan:
First layer: single layer noodles, 1/3 ricotta, 1/3 Swiss chard, 1/4 Parmesan, 1/4 sauce, 1/4 Mozzarella
Repeat: single layer noodles, 1/3 ricotta, 1/3 Swiss chard, 1/4 Parmesan, 1/4 sauce, 1/4 Mozzarella
Repeat: single layer noodles, 1/3 ricotta, 1/3 Swiss chard, 1/4 Parmesan, 1/4 sauce, 1/4 Mozzarella
Final layer: single layer noodles, 1/4 sauce, 1/4 Parmesan, 1/4 Mozzarella, sprinkle with a little dried basil if desired.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil, sealing well.
Bake in the preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Uncover and check to see if the liquid has been absorbed.  If not, return to oven, covered loosely this time with the foil, and bake another 10 minutes, check again and cook an additional 5 minutes if the lasagna is still too watery. (Some liquid will absorb while it stands out to cool.)

Remove and let stand at room temperature, covered loosely with foil, for about 10 minutes to let the lasagna 'set up' so it won't fall apart when you cut it.