Too much CHARD !!!

[Ms T]

I just typed it all out and thought I'd posted it, but it hasn't appeared on the thread! Bugger.

Anyway -- you can use bought shortcrust pastry if you like. Use it to line a 22cm tart ring, then bake it blind (cover with greaseproof paper, add some baking beans or dried pulses and bake for 20 mins at 200 degrees C). Switch oven down to 180, then remove the paper and beans, prick base with a fork and brush with beaten egg and return to oven for five mins.

For the filling, slice the chard stems like you would celery and steam until tender. Whisk together 200ml of creme fraiche, 1 egg and 4 egg yolks and 6 tbsp full-cream milk. Stir in 100g gruyere, a pinch of cayenne and some salt and pepper.

Put chard stems in pastry case, and add the filling. Bake for around 30mins until nicely browned.

 

[hektik]

recipes here and here and a tasty recipe here and a whole load here and another shedload here as well.

cant see why it wouldn't work with bacon etc. i do a braised cabbage with bacon, onion, garlic and rosemary, i guess you coudl do the same with chard..

 

[Rohen]

http://www.recipesource.com/fgv/vegetables/carrots/green-chard-carrots1.html

Green chard with carrots

Yummy

 

[Moonchild]

Sweet potato, chickpea and chard soup

Ainsley recipe that crops up everywhere (including the Soup Kitchen book)

Onions, chopped sweet potatoes and bit of garlic, gently fried up in a bit of oil. Ground up cumin, bit of crushed chilli/tabasco, add some stock. Simmer 'til sweet pots are soft.

Add in half a tin of chickpeas and blend/food process. Back in the pan and add the other half of the tin of chickpeas. Bit more stock until its soupy, rather than stewy.

Reheat, add in handfuls (generous as you like) of roughly chopped chard (or spinach, if you're not overwhelmed with chard). Give it a couple of minutes, so the chard is still green, not khaki, and serve.

(crusty bread, lots of butter - if you happen to have some fresh coriander, a bit chopped over the top is rather nice).

 

[Derian]

Too much CURLY KALE !!!

I dithered with my chard and now it's all melted and horrid I thought I'd be able to use some of the lovely recipes here (thanks ) with this week's veggie box. But instead they've sent me a

huge

bag

of CURLY KALE.

Bit at a loss here too ...

Any suggestions? Or should I start a new thread

 

[Ms T]

Kale, chorizo and potato soup.

Fry an onion in a little olive oil. When soft add some chunks of chorizo (I prefer the spicy one) and fry gently until it releases its oil. Then add some potatoes, stock and the curly kale (make sure you take the hard stems out first).

Otherwise, treat it like any other green. It's nice stir-fried, or lightly steamed or boiled.

 

[Derian]

Thanks Sounds good *determined to eat the greens this week*

 

[kea]

we still have half a cabbage, a lettuce and half a bag of chard (or it might be kale )
half the pears went off after 2 days.
not v impressed with veg box

 

[Rohen]

I still have the cauliflower which I have to eat at some point

 

[Shmu]

we still have half a cabbage, a lettuce and half a bag of chard (or it might be kale )
half the pears went off after 2 days.
not v impressed with veg box

I found this problem too, Kea - I guess we're used to our food being so covered in preservative chemicals that it doesn't go off for ages.

 

[kea]

it's annoying tho, since it's impossible to eat an entire veg box in the space of 2 or 3 days maybe it's just my crappy household management but i always seem to end up chucking stuff out when i get a veg box, and that then puts me off getting one in future ...

 

[Shmu]

it's annoying tho, since it's impossible to eat an entire veg box in the space of 2 or 3 days maybe it's just my crappy household management but i always seem to end up chucking stuff out when i get a veg box, and that then puts me off getting one in future ...

Yes.

I imagine that without a family it's hard to use it quickly enough. Also, the contents of the boxes are usually determined by what's in season, rather than carefully crafted so that it is possible to eat the components over a week without some of the greens going off.

 

[Ms T]

it's annoying tho, since it's impossible to eat an entire veg box in the space of 2 or 3 days maybe it's just my crappy household management but i always seem to end up chucking stuff out when i get a veg box, and that then puts me off getting one in future ...

This doesn't sound right to me. The stuff we get in our veg box lasts a week in the fridge no problem. Even stuff like spinach and chard. I find having a decent fridge makes a BIG difference though.

Which company are you using?

 

[kea]

this current box was organic delivery co. it's the first one i've ordered in a while cos i got so pissed off with throwing stuff in the bin when i got boxes before. i've tried 3 companies, riverford (only once admittedly), organic del-co, and abel&cole.
i might give riverford another go ... i might also stop getting mixed fruit n veg boxes and just get veg ones, as it's usually the fruit that goes off with extreme rapidity.

 

[Derian]

Mine's abel & cole. They've been quite good though I had to cut down to a small veggie box, just couldn't get through it all. It's usually greens, spinach etc that go past their best before I have a chance to use them. I think it's cos those big bags look a bit intimidating, where to start etc

 

[Derian]

Just had my first butter stir fried curly kale.

It's very curly! But it did shrink on cooking. 3 leaves were just right for one person. Tasted lovely

Lots left in the bag though *gets a bit nervous*

 

[Orangesanlemons]

Fry off some onions in plenty of butter, cook some new potatoes until they're just done and cook a batch of roughly shredded kale in plenty of salted, boiling water. Now add some halved, roasted chestnuts to the onions, lightly crush the potatoes and add them too. Finally, drain the kale and add that to the pan. Mix it all up and season well. It's a lovely winter dish.

 

[Shmu]

Or you could use it in colcannon.

 

[Derian]

http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=3827758&postcount=69

The chard/kale thread in action

 

[kea]

yes i got a lecture on exactly how to cook it last nite!!

tonite we're gonna try and use some of the cabbage in a stir fry with prawns and bok choi ...

 

[Phototropic]

Myabe we should keep our fruit in the frdige? Our down stairs is quite warm?

 

[kea]

yeah probably. the fridge ain't that big tho ... it won't all fit in!!

 

[D]

I'm reviving this thread because I have to make "steamed greens" for 12 tomorrow.

Now, I've bought some kale and plan to buy some more stuff from the market today, but I have no idea how many bunches of the stuff to buy and I'd like to do something moderately more exciting than just steaming the fuckers.

I think some bok choi is definitely in order. Mustard greens - yay! Spinach - yay!

Chard - hmmm.

I have some dulse too, maybe I can sprinkle it in for mineral-y/seaweed-y goodness.

So, how many bundles of greens for 12? And any other fantabulous cooking suggestions?

It's to go with turkey and, of course, tofurkey.

 

[D]

I had a snoop 'round my kitchen and remembered the ol' kale with pine nuts and currants.