Eat Your Veggies: Swiss Chard with Prunes and Pine Nuts

“Tomorrow, I’m going to eat more vegetables.”

My routine with greens is almost always the same: garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes.  I totally recommend it.  It tastes great every time, but I’m always looking for new flavors to try with greens. I don’t want to get bored with greens, they’re great for you!

My trusty workhorses.

 This week, I tested out the combination of Swiss Chard with garlic, prunes and pine nuts.  Garlic had remain present because garlic and greens just go together.  

New contenders

The pine nuts were predictably delicious, as they ought to be for their high price tag!  I bought mine at Trader Joe’s, where they are pretty reasonably priced.  You can also substitute pretty much any nut.  

Prunes: a revelation.

Much to my surprise, my favorite part of this dish was the addition of chopped prunes! I hadn’t really eaten prunes before making this.  I bought the bag for a baking project that I later abandoned.  I always assumed they tasted like their puckery juice, but they didn’t! They were plump, sweet and chewy, a great contrast to the astringent plant taste of the chard.  

Sauteed Chard with Prunes and Pine Nuts
(serves 2-ish)

1 bunch Swiss Chard, Rainbow Chard, or any other chard
1 big garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons pine nuts
5 pitted prunes, chopped
olive oil
salt

Rip the leaves from the stems of the chard.  Discard the stems or save for another use. Wash the leaves by submerging them in cold water.  Dry in a salad spinner so that they aren’t dripping wet.  They don’t need to be completely dry, however.

Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and pine nuts.  Stir and cook for about 1 minute.  Add chard and prunes.  Cook and stir until chard is wilted, about 4 minutes.  Sprinkle with water if the chard dries out and starts to get crispy.

Remove from heat.  Sprinkle with salt to taste to serve.

Source:  My brain, I’ve seen 3 or 4 recipes for chard with nuts and dried fruit bouncing around the internet lately.