Published at 19:23, Thursday, 15 July 2010

AFTER last week’s tale of embarrassment on the growing front, this week it is the tale of success.

We are mid bumper crop of Swiss chard.

We have found it easy to grow and responsive to picking.

In other words, the more you pick, the more it grows . . . that’s what we call gardening!

If you are unfamiliar with it, chard is similar to spinach.

You can use it when it is young as a salad leaf and as it grows more mature again, like spinach, it requires just a little cooking.

It comes in plain varieties, but also in the wonderful ‘rainbow’ variety, which brings a fabulous mixed colour to the garden with stems of red, yellow, orange and white.

We are proud to announce that this is the first bounty from the garden that we’ve eaten and it tastes good!

Here are two recipes, one a quick and easy side dish and the other something a bit more substantial.

If you cannot get hold of Swiss chard, then the aforementioned spinach will do just fine.

Serves 4

500 g Swiss chard, trimmed of any woody stalks and leaves cut into large pieces

3-4 tbsp olive oil

1 fresh chilli, roughly chopped

2 (or more) cloves garlic, crushed

Juice of ½ a lemon

Salt and pepper

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil over a moderate heat. Add the chilli and garlic and season with salt and pepper.

Stir in the leaves, cover the pan and let them wilt for 5 minutes. Stir and cook uncovered for a further 5 minutes to reduce the juices in the pan.

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary and squeeze over a little lemon juice before serving.

Serves 8

750g chard

8 spring onions, finely chopped

500g ricotta cheese

125g feta cheese, crumbled

80g parmesan, grated

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 small handful mint leaves, shredded

2 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper

3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

16 x 20cm by 30cm sheets of filo pastry

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 180 C

Rinse the chard and place into a large pan with a splash of water and cover with a lid. Place over a high heat for a few minutes, or until the chard has wilted. Drain and squeeze out any excess moisture with your hands.

Roughly chop the chard and place into a large bowl. Add the spring onions, ricotta, feta, parmesan, whole eggs, mint, and sugar. Mix well then season with the salt and pepper.

Lightly oil a 20cm x 30cm baking tin or foil baking dish and trim the sheets of filo to the same size of the tin if necessary. Lay one sheet of pastry in the tin, brush with olive oil and layer with another sheet of pastry. Continue the process until you have used half of the pastry sheets. Spread the chard and cheese mixture evenly on top.

Repeat the layering and oiling process with the remaining filo pastry sheets to encase the chard mixture. Trim away any excess pastry then score the top sheet of pastry with a sharp knife to create a diamond pattern. Lightly brush the top with the beaten egg yolk.

Bake the filo pie for 45 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden-brown and the pie is piping hot throughout.

Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk