Swiss Chard Gratin

Hey Jude's Note:

Delicious! This goes great with grilled chicken. Fresh breadcrumbs are listed twice, it's not a typo, they're used twice in the recipe. Recipe from the Chicago Tribune.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

Gratin

• 2 tablespoons butter , softened
• 2 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup fresh breadcrumb
• 1 lb swiss chard , any color
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium shallot , finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon salt
• fresh ground pepper , to taste

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 ½ cups low-fat milk
• 1⁄3; teaspoon salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 1⁄8; teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
• 1 cup grated gruyere cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°.
2. Coat the interior of a 1 1/2-quart gratin or baking dish with the softened butter and spoon in the 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs; tilt the dish around until they cover the buttered surface.
3. Slice the chard stems and leaves into 1 1/2-inch pieces; wash in cold water; drain but don't dry them.
4. Heat the olive oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat; add the shallot and garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until softened but not browned, about 1 minute; add the chard, sprinkle with salt; cover tightly and steam until the chard has wilted to half its original volume, about 2-3 minutes; uncover and cook the chard, turning occasionally with tongs, until all the water in the pan evaporates, about 5 more minutes; season with pepper and set aside.
5. Sauce - melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; whisk in the flour; cook, whisking, until mixture bubbles up and turns lighter in color, about 1 minute; pour in the cold milk all at once; whisk vigorously; add salt and bay leaf; heat, whisking, until it comes to a boil and thickens, about 5 minutes; reduce the heat to low, simmer 2 minutes; stir in the nutmeg, oregano, thyme and 1/2 cup of the cheese; remove from heat and discard bay leaf.
6. Mix the cooked chard and the sauce; spoon into prepared pan; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup bread crumbs and remaining 1/2 cup cheese; bake until golden and bubbly, 35 minutes.

Reviews

[emmypies]

being a transplanted chicagoan with my own collection of recipes from the food section of the tribune, i was happy to try this one out. i get lots of chard from my daughter's school garden and i am glad to have another recipe to use it in. it was easy and tasty! i substituted oil for the casserole dish instead of butter, but otherwise, the herbs and cheesy sauce complemented the chard very well. i will even buy chard at the market to make this recipe! thanks hey jude for passing it on.

[Oliver & Fischer's Mommy]

This was sooo good! Quite possibly my new favorite veggie side dish. Everything about it was perfect! Thanks so much!! I will be making this over and over again!!

[Sherri at the Beach]

This was a great way to use swiss chard which I've just discovered in the last few months. It needed a little something else for us to make it a 5 star, but was very good. I used the cup or so that was leftover and mixed it with 1/2 cup marinara sauce and some whole wheat penne pasta for a nice 2nd meal side. Thanks for sharing.