CHARD GRUYERE FRITATTA

CHARD GRUYERE FRITATTA 

Chard is a fabulous blend of an edible crisp stem with soft sweet leaves. Look for bright firm leaves. Wrap in cloth or plastic and store in refrigerator for up to 3 days. A member of the beet family, this nutrient-dense produce item sends its energy to the leaves rather than dense roots; for this reason, the chard plant has a rich complexity of flavors without excessively rough leaves. When cooking produce think: from root to fruit! Add your items to the heated pan in that order: ROOTS (potato, beets, yam, onions, garlic), STEMS (chard stems, celery, asparagus, etc.), FRUITS (bell pepper, eggplant, snap peas, etc.), LEAVES (spinach, chard leaves, arugula, herbs, etc.). The leaves of a plant, be it chard or other, can be added to a dish once heat is off, to simply be wilted in.

It’s always best to de-stem your rainbow chard. This allows you to separate the plant by amount of heat needed. As noted above, regardless of a recipe, you will want to start by sautéing a root (typically an onion or garlic)then adding the stems and following with the leaves. I would recommend a thin “chiffonade” (tiny ribbon cut) to simply fold into heated dish once heat is off!

INGREDIENTS:

10 large eggs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

2 tsp. fresh chives, snipped

pinch sea salt and black pepper

1/8 tsp. paprika

2-3 Tbs. grass-fed butter

2-3 Yukon Gold potatos; about 1/2 pound, cut into 1/2 inch dice(1/2c.)

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch chard stems, chopped

1 bunch rainbow chard leaves, chopped

½ cups shredded gruyere cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a bowl, whisk the eggs, Parmesan cheese, chives, salt,. pepper and paprika. Heat 2 Tbs. butter in 10 inch, cast-iron (oven proof) skillet over medium heat. Add the diced potatoes and cook until tender, about 6-7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Add 1 Tbs more of butter and sauté the onion, and stems for 1-2 minutes, then add the garlic and stir until crisp tender. Add the potatoes back to the pan along with another pinch salt/pepper. Lower the heat, add the egg mixture to the skillet and stir until combined. Add the gruyere cheese and stir. Cook without stirring for about 10 minutes until the eggs are almost set. the center will still be wet, but bubbly. Position the oven rack about 6 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler to high. Put the skillet under the broiler for about 1-3 min, until eggs are set and top of frittata is golden. Remove from the oven and let set for 5 minutes and then transfer to a plate to cut into wedges. Enjoy!