Swiss chard with walnuts, garlic, and lemon

I find that a lot of people are intrigued by the sound – and look – of leafy greens like swiss or rainbow chard, but don’t really know what to do once they get them home.

Here is an easy and universally delicious way to prepare swiss chard. I like to make it in a large pot rather than a pan because I find it’s a bit easier to keep an eye on the simmering aromatic broth that way.

You’ll need:

• 1 bunch red swiss chard
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 1/2 t red chili flakes (or less, if you don’t like too much spice)
• a pinch of salt
• 1 T olive oil

1. Wash the chard thoroughly; cut off the stems and cut out the thicker ‘veins’ running through the leaves. Chop leaves and stems roughly.

2. Heat up olive oil in a large deep saucepan. Add garlic, walnuts, and chard stems; toss together and saute for about 5 minutes.

3. Add chard leaves, stock, salt, and chili flakes. Add lemon juice. Mix with a pair of tongs as the chard wilts and cook on a light simmer until leaves and stalks are tender but still have a bit of a bite.

The stock will be mostly reduced but if there is any leftover, I like using it to cook soba noodles, for example.

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