Young Swiss Chard with Sesame Seeds

From World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

Serves 4

This is one of my winner dishes for potlucks. The dish always comes back empty. Granted, the recipe calls for young leaves, but I’ve never differentiated the age of my Swiss chard, and never had complaints. Now that I look at the recipe, I don’t remember doing anything other than washing, chopping and steaming my chard before dressing with the sauce. The sauce is the money here anyway.

Grilled Swiss Chard and Mozzarella Bundles

I was introduced to Swiss chard by Julia Child. I’ve forgotten now which cookbook, but she sautéed the stems in butter with shallots, then added the chopped leaves. A little more sautéing and then a cream sauce with Gruyere poured over the top and everything stuck in the oven to brown. At least that’s how I remember the recipe. The key points were to cook the stems first as they need longer to become tender, and of course everything’s better with butter, shallots and cheese. Right?

Here’s a simpler way to combine Swiss chard and cheese. The recipe idea comes from Moore Farm and Friends. A perfect side dish when you’re already cooking on the grill.