Here’s a super quick Braised Chard recipe that will take mere minutes to cook and is a tasty way to incorporate a vast amount of greens into your dinner without even realizing it. The crispy fried onions, tangy, citrusy flavour of sumac paired with garlic, is fabulous! I promise Sauteed chard with sumac will become a favourite!
SAUTEED CHARD WITH SUMAC – A QUICK HEALTHY SIDE
I find that often that the simplest of ingredients often make some of the best-tasting dishes. This chard recipe is a quick vegetable side that I make ALOT, so it’s about time I shared. This recipe includes a whole bunch of chard, and to be honest; I tend to eat this entire bunch in one sitting.
I figure a little bit of gluttony when eating greens is ok, right?
Chard is one of those vegetables that often get looked over at the market due to many people not knowing what to make with it. I know personally many of my friends have asked me what is chard when I talk about this dish.
This dish is popular in many middle eastern homes; it’s usually called Hindbe, which is the Arabic word for “dandelion.” Arab food it’s traditionally named after the main ingredient. Traditionally in many Levantine homes, it’s common to have this dish made with dandelion leaves vs the chard. Still, the dandelion leaves can be substituted for other greens if it’s needed.
I decided to swap out the dandelion leaves for chard for easy accessibility to chard vs the dandelion leaves. But if you find the dandelion leaves, give them a try! But be warned they’re a bit of an acquired taste, and if you’re not used to a lot of greens in your diet, you might be turned off to this recipe if you don’t like them. Dandelion leaves are bitter most of the time.
Why Chard and Sumac need to be on your table!
I always try to get more green into my diet and Chard is no exception. This cruciferous vegetable is loaded with 13 different types of Antioxidants; it one of the most antioxidant-rich foods on the planet. Thanks to those antioxidants, chard can help to protect your heart health, eye function, brain development, muscle and nerve function.
Chard is a cruciferous vegetable that is rich in antioxidants and vital nutrients that support detoxification, heart health, cancer prevention and brain development.
And that’s not enough benefits for including this powerhouse veggie into your home, how about these benefits?
Chard has a high level of magnesium! This means that it can help prevent stress-related symptoms that take a toll on the nervous system, including insomnia, mood disturbances, headaches, high blood pressure and an increased risk for diabetes.
Last but not least, chard benefits your digestive health and reduces inflammation in your gut. So you’ll be glowing from the inside out, great skins start in the gut. So you’ll be young-looking well into your years.
Acai, it’s move over and make room for Sumac!
That’s right! Sumac is even high in antioxidants than Acai. Adding this herb to your diet, you’re not only going to get all the similar health benefits of the chard, but you’ll also get antifungal benefits and vitamin C too.
How to prepare chard?
The chard needs to be washed really well, or you’ll eat with a very gritty meal that won’t be a very delightful dish.
When washing the chard: run it thoroughly with running water, leave by leave and really rub the stems.
Then soak in water for about 10 minutes. Remove from the water and add it to a salad spinner. If you don’t have a salad spinner, shake off the chard leaves and let air dry a bit.
Once the chard is dry, pull the leave off the stem. Finely chop or leave the stems long it’s your choice, and roughly chop the leaves. Keep the two separated, because you’ll be cooking them at a different time in the recipe.
Chard and Sumac Ingredients.
What you’ll need to make this yummy dish…it’s only 5 ingredients!
Chard: It’s also known as Swiss Chard. It’s commonly found in 3 different varieties in most supermarkets, white, red, and rainbow. I love buying the rainbow variety because I love to eat the rainbow 🥰pun intended! But the red and white chard varieties are easier to find and really fresh.
Onions: Lots of onions! Slice thin for quick, even cooking. I saute 2 onions and fry 1 onion until crispy for the topping. This is an optional step but highly recommended.
Sumac: You can find this spice in many well-stocked supermarkets, Arab food stores and online. Some brands will be salty and tangier than others, so try your food before adding salt.
Lemon: I usually only use one lemon in this recipe, but depends on the juiciness of the lemon. You can get away with using concentrated lemon juice, but it’s not the best option.
Olive Oil: Use your best olive oil for this dish. The onions are extra tasty when cooked in good olive oil.
That’s it! Let get cooking. 👩🏼🍳
HOW TO MAKE BRAISED CHARD & SUMAC
Prepare the chard: Pull the leaves of the chard off the stems, dice the stalks. Set the stems aside. Then roughly chop the leaves. Keep the leave separate from the stems. Since they have different cooking times.
Slice and sautee: Thinly slice the onions, set aside one onion. Heat a large frying pan, drizzle with olive oil. Add onions and chard stems. Sautee until stems are soft and onions are golden.
Fry onion until crispy. In a separate small frying pan, heat a generous amount of olive oil. Add in the onion and fry at medium-high heat until the onion is crispy. Remove from pan and drain excess fat on a paper towel.
Sautee the greens. Add the chard leaves to the pan. Allow the chard to wilt on the heat. It takes about 2-3 minutes.
The final touch. Add the lemon juice and sumac to the chard. Give it a taste. Add salt if needed, and adjust the lemon and sumac.
Serve. Add the chard to a large plate or shallow bowl and top with fried onions.
What to eat with this dish?
Serve the braised chard along with any proteins. It’s excellent with baked, fried or grilled chicken, fish and lamb.
You can eat this dish with bread or alone. I prefer to eat it with pita bread.
It’s a great addition to a Nourishing Bowls, and it pairs well with mhammara, freekeh and roasted veggies.
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Sauteed chard with sumac
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 18 minutes
Description
Here’s a super quick Sautéed Chard recipe that will takes mere minutes to cook and is a tasty way to incorporate a vast amount of greens into your dinner without even realizing it. The crispy fried onions, tangy citrusy flavour of sumac paired with garlic is fabulous! I promise Sauteed chard with sumac will become a favourite!
Ingredients
- 1 bundle of swiss chard, divide the stock from leaves
- 3 large onions, sliced thinly
- 1–2 tbsp Sumac
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- Olive oil , as needed
- Salt, as needed
Instructions
- Prep the chard. Remove the stems from chard. Cut the chard stems into long stick or finely chop. It’s your choice. Set aside. Roughly chop the leaves, set aside separate from the stems.
- Saute. Heat a large frypan on medium heat, and drizzle olive oil into the pan. Add two onions of the sliced onions and the chard stems into the pan. Fry until onions are golden and the stems are tender. Add the chard leaves suate until wilted.
- Fry onions until crispy. In a sparate small frying pan heat the pan on a medium-high heat. once the pan is heated add a generous amount of olive oil, then add the onion. Fry the onions until crispy. remove from pan and drain on paper towel. Set aside.
- Final touch. Add in the lemon and sumac. Taste the chard and adjust the flavours. You may or may not need salt depending on sumac brand.
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