Rainbow Swiss chard with golden raisins and pepitas: easy, fast, highly nutritious side dish. You will love the combination of the leafy greens with the sweetness of the raisins and the crunch of the pepitas!
My biggest challenge is to slow my mind, my -impossible- project is to let it sit still. I try to "be in the moment", but fail miserably when hundreds of thoughts, worries, questions, get tangled in my head. Yoga helps me tremendously, I practice vinyasa flow yoga, and during the poses it's easier for me to be in the moment, enjoying the journey of getting there, but sometimes, in poses that you have to hold for a longer time, or when I'm in savasana (the corpse pose, laying down on my back, for those not familiar with yoga), I cannot really leg go and abandon, my mind rushing and thinking of what I have to do when I get home, what recipes we should make next, with flashbacks of memories mingling in and contributing to the chaos that it's in there 🙂 .
I'm mostly projected in the future, planning, scheduling, organizing, and when I'm not in the future, you can find me in the past, lost in thoughts of what, where, and how has been. The present? Fleeting, flickering like a sparkling light. Loreto sometimes asks me where I am, when I seem to fade away, and tells me to come down on earth, and it's true, I was some place up in the sky, I would need rocks in my pockets, or cement shoes, but he is my rock and he is the one who can appease my wandering mind.
In this adventure together as food bloggers we compliment each other and support, encourage, and help when needed, as needed. When I cook/bake, I'm there, but not fully, you can see me start multiple little tasks or sub tasks as I'm going. Each new task the product of how my mind works, constantly moving, changing, shifting, adding.
The strange thing is that the simpler the recipe the more it calms my mind. It seems that when recipes get really complicated my mind starts to race and every thought comes in, but when a recipe is simple I have less stress and I relax more. For the recipes I have done many times and that are in my repertoire, confidence sets in and that thought highway is brought out of rush hour traffic and more like a country drive. Funny phenomena. With all that being said this recipe for today is more like that Sunday country drive.
Greens have always been a favorite of mine and if you say verdure (greens) everyone in Italy will rave and rant on the benefits of these particular veggies. It was our Saturday visit to the downtown City Market 104th where we found some lovely vibrant colorful Swiss chard. Our usual way of preparing this green is to simply blanch the greens in boiling water, drain and into a pan with some good extra virgin olive oil, and garlic, some seasoning and it's ready to eat. This time I found a very interesting recipe in a book titled "Pretty Delicious" by Candice Kumai. It seemed very intriguing and so our new Swiss chard dish is born. We give you Rainbow Swiss Chard with Golden Raisins and Pepitas.
Rainbow Swiss Chard with Golden Raisins and Pepitas, a new approach to using leafy greens.
This recipe is as simple as simple can be. The Swiss chard blanched then sautéed with some red onions, olive oil and seasoning. At just about the end of cooking the raisins go in, and when you plate it, add a splash of lemon juice, top with the pepitas (pumpkin seeds), and this dish is ready to be served.
The flavors are wonderful. The Swiss chard with its rich earthy flavor and velvety texture. The golden raisins teaming with the caramelized onions adding a touch of sweetness to the savory component of the dish. The pepitas roasted nicely giving us a last textural crunch which is most delightful in conjunction to the smooth soft textures of the greens, raisins and onions. Although the raisins stayed plump so there was a bit of pop in texture as the sweetness released itself with every bite in our mouths.
This Rainbow Swiss Chard with Golden Raisins and Pepitas, is a great side dish but could also be a dish on it's own with bread, great for a light lunch. The flavors sophisticated in a simple sort of way, giving us a plethora of textures and a dichotomy of tastes, all well enjoyed as far as our family was concerned.
So next time you're at you farmers market and you see that beautiful rainbow Swiss chard, think about this recipe, I am sure your family will enjoy also.
Buon Appetito!
Song of the day: "Skyscraper", Demi Lovato.
PrintRainbow Swiss Chard with Golden Raisins and Pepitas
Recipe adapted from: "Pretty Delicious" by Candice Kumai.
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 bundle rainbow Swiss chard
- 2 Tbsp pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted
- 1 Tbsp cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash and trim the Swiss chard, then place it in a pot of boiling water. Blanche it for few minutes, drain and set aside.
- Toast the pepitas in a small skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan often, until fragrant, tasty brown and plump, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the red onion and cook, stirring often until it begins to soften, 3 minutes. Stir in the chard and cook for about 4-5 minutes.
- Stir in the golden raisins and turn off the heat.
- Turn the greens onto a serving platter, sprinkle with lemon juice and the pepitas over the top and serve.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 servings
We have another great dish using Swiss chard:
CHARD, WHITE BEAN & SWEET POTATO GRATIN
I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Colleen says
Nicoletta, I love your analogy of rush hour traffic vs country road, and I can totally relate. Simple recipes with great ingredients are my favourite and cooking that way almost feels like therapy. Complicated ones , although fun, can stress me out sometimes, too. This recipe is perfect timing for me because with the weather cooling a little, the swiss chard in my garden is robust, and I"m always looking for new ways to use it. Thanks for posting.
Thank you Colleen, we love this recipe, can't wait to make it again. With your homegrown swiss chard it would be just perfect!
janet @ the taste space says
I understand where you are coming from. I had a major health scare this year and had to patiently worry and wait. However, I tried to switch that worry into mindfulness with some meditation. Yoga sounds like your jam, even if it isn't perfect. No one is. These greens look fabulous. I find have enough recipes for Swiss chard. Thank you for sharing.
Oh Janet, sorry to hear that. Hope everything is fine now. Yes, yoga works well, most of the times 😉 . Swiss chard may seem like a "boring" green to work with, but the flavor is amazing (and so healthy for you! ). Thanks for stopping by!
Marisa says
Diners at my mamma's house always had verdure as a side dish and this recipe is somewhat nostalgic for me! I find the Rainbow Swiss Chard to be such gorgeous greens and you've truly done it justice with a wonderful combination of flavors!
The same ????. I don't remember a meal with my family without verdure. Thanks Marisa!
Sean says
I wonder how many of us food bloggers feel that way - always lost in plans, thinking about the next hundred steps. I definitely connect with what you're saying about simple recipes though. I need to remind myself to do one once in a while so that I can sort of refocus my efforts. Reset a little.
And I must say, I wholeheartedly approve of the Italian adoration of greens. They get ignored far too often, and you can do so much with them. And this is certainly doing something wonderful with them!
As Italians it's easy for us to cook and appreciate simple but tasty recipes, they're part of our culture. Thanks Sean for stopping by!
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
I'm a yoga instructor and I love seeing the shift in my students from when they walk in to how they leave the class. This post really made me think about the things I do that truly absorb me and I'm going to try to focus on them more in the future. I love swiss chard and had never thought to add raisins, it sounds wonderful!
I always feel better after a yoga class. Anyway, hope you give this Swiss chard recipe a try, it is divine! Thank you Alexandra!
Justine @ JustineCelina.com says
Ah, what a beautiful dish! I especially love the addition of golden raisins and pepitas -- a very fall themed swiss chard! Just pinned to try it later. 🙂
It was so good Justine, with those morsels of raisins and pepitas! Hope you try it. Thanks so much!