Tomato and Parmesan Swiss Chard
Sometimes side dishes can be just as time-consuming (or uninspiring) as a main dish. As much as I love having a garden at the tips of my fingers, I’m getting bored of the same choices-eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes or swiss chard. I know that you’re probably wondering why I just don’t go to the grocery store and pick something up. Well, blame it on pure laziness “force of habit!”
Seeing that I already had some tomatoes and swiss chard on hand (that my father-in-law had just picked) I decided to spice up lunch by combining the two and that little inspiration was all I needed to create a delicious, saucy side dish with a bite!
(This is enough for at least 2-3 portions for baby, unless you finish off the leftovers yourself!)
2-3 garlic cloves, halved (or chopped finely, if you prefer)
4-5 ripe Roma tomatoes (or about 1 1/2 cups of canned diced tomatoes)
4-5 cups uncooked swiss chard (or one bunch)
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1-2 tbsp. of freshly grated Parmesan
Rinse swiss chard thoroughly, remove the base of the stem (about the last 1/4 of it) then chop the leaves in half.
In a large pot, bring water to a boil (the amount of water you need depends on how much swiss chard you have-you need enough to just cover the swiss chard.) Boil for about 15-20 minutes, or until tender (test the doneness by inserting a fork in the stem-if it goes through it easily, they are done!)
Chop garlic cloves in half and finely dice tomatoes.
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil on medium-low heat for about 1 minute. Add garlic and sautee for about 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes and oregano to the saucepan and continue to cook on medium-low heat for about 5-7 minutes or until the tomatoes reduce and thicken to a “sauce.” (This might take longer if you are using an electric burner-I find that gas burners reduce the cooking time by quite a bit!)
*TIP: If the tomatoes dry up too quickly either lower the heat or just add a few tablespoons at a time of water and continue to cook until it reduces into a sauce.
Once swiss chard is ready, remove from the pot and rinse with cool water. Once cooled, chop finely.
Add the swiss chard to the tomato sauce and cook for another 2-3 minutes to combine the flavours. Don’t forget to remove the garlic!
Add a generous sprinkle of freshly grated Parmsan and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Serve as a side dish or add to rice
*TIP: Having trouble getting your child to eat his/her vegetables? Why not puree this recipe and trick them try offering them a new and improved “tomato” sauce?!!
This entry was posted in and tagged egg-free, gluten-free, Parmesan, swiss chard, tomato sauce. Bookmark the permalink.
