Share #20 October 12, 2011

In your share today:
Sangre Potatoes
Onions
Carrots
Parnsips
Delicata Squash
Swiss Chard
Mustard Greens
Sweet Peppers
Hot Pepper
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Cilantro

Alice Waters' Chard Gratin
4 servings

1 1/2 bunches of chard
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons melted butter
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
Salt
2 teaspoons flour
1/2 cup milk
A few strokes of freshly grated nutmeg

1. Wash and stem the chard. Save half the stems and slice them thin. Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil and cooked the sliced stems for 2 minutes. Add the chard leaves and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and cool. Gently squeeze out the excess liquid from the stems and leaves and coarsely chop them.

2. Toss together the breadcrumbs and the melted butter. Toast on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven, stirring now and then, until lightly brown, about 10 minutes.

3. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the diced onion. Cook over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chard and season with salt. Cook for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with the flour and stir well. Then add the milk and nutmeg and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more milk if the mixture gets too thick. The chard should be moist but not floating in liquid. Taste and add salt if needed.

4. Butter a small baking dish. Spread the chard mixture evenly in the dish and dot with the remaining butter, cut into bits. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the top. Bake in a 350-degree oven until the gratin is golden and bubbling, 20 to 30 minutes.

Chard Frittata

1 bunch chard
3-4 Tbls. olive oil
1 small onion
6 eggs
cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash chard and remove stems. Cut stems into thin slices and coarsely chop leaves. Peel and thinly slice onion.

Add about 1-2 Tbls. olive oil to a heavy, 10-inch, ovenproof pan (cast iron) works well). Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes. Add chard and stems. Add a dash of salt and cook for another 5 minutes, until leaves are tender. Press chard to pour out any excess liquid from the pan.

Crack eggs into a large bowl. Add a pinch of salt, freshly ground pepper, a pinch of cayenne, and 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Beat eggs, then mix in chard and onions. Wipe out pan with a paper towel. Add 2 Tbls. olive oil, let it heat for a few seconds, then pour in egg mix. After a couple of minutes, place the pan in the oven and let cook until set, about 8 minutes.

Remove pan from the oven. Invert a plate on the top of the pan and turn the plate and pan upside down to turn out the frittata.