Swiss Chard with Toasted Cashews

Swiss chard is a spring vegetable that thrives and grows in cool weather, which means you can enjoy it again in the fall.

I found some lovely Swiss chard, bright green and firm, at my local Asian market. Here’s what I did with it to make a delicious side dish to meat, but will go great with fish or poultry just the same.

This particular chard has white stems, but you can use swiss chard with red or yellow stems for this recipe.

It’s such a gorgeous vegetable, masha’allah.

And it’s amazing what you can do with it. Subhanallah.

Swiss Chard with Toasted Cashews Ingredients

1 Tb. olive oil 1 Tb. butter 1/2 cup white onion, diced 5 small tomatoes or 2 large ones, roughly chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced sea salt, to taste freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1/2 cup large bunch Swiss chard with white stems (you could also use the chard with red or yellow stems) 1/3 cup heavy cream 1/8 cup parsley, roughly chopped 1/4 cup cashews, lightly toasted

Directions

Thoroughly clean and wash the Swiss chard greens and stems. I like to spray my greens with white vinegar and allow to sit for about 10 minutes. The vinegar is a great disinfectant. Rinse with cold water and dry very well with paper or all-cotton towels.
Remove all of the white, firm stems from the leaves, but do not discard. Set aside all the stems.
Roughly chop the leafy greens and set aside. Dice the stems.
In a large sauté pan, heat the butter. When it begins to froth, add the olive oil. Heat for about a minute before adding the stems.
Add the onion to the stems and continue to sauté until brown. Add the tomatoes, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for about 4-5 minutes.
Add the roughly chopped Swiss chard leaves. Allow them to cook down, 1-2 minutes.
Meanwhile, toast the cashews over low heat (no oil), allowing them to brown on each side.
To the Swiss chard mixture, add the heavy cream and parsley. Mix thoroughly, then turn off heat.
Add the cashews and mix gently. Serve while hot.