Swiss Chard Au Gratin

Yesterday I shared a little love about our former CSA. Today is a day to share my love about putting veggies in the freezer for future use. Last year at the shareholders meeting the awesome farmers at The Good Earth let a bunch of us run wild in the fields and take home whatever was left. I dug up a few potatoes, grabbed some heirloom tomatoes and snagged a couple peppers. Then I stumbled upon the row of Swiss chard. I filled two reusable shopping bags with Swiss chard!

There is no way I could have eaten that much Swiss chard. At the time I only knew how to make Swiss barley risotto. I did know that I could use it down the line so I prepped the Swiss chard for Swiss barley risotto and divided it up into plastic bags and stored it in the freezer so I could pull it out at any time. I didn’t use it all before our move so I packed it up with the rest of the freezer food and moved my yummy Swiss card to Minnesota.

I was going through my recipe binder and came across this recipe. I was thrilled to be able to try something new with my Swiss chard. We are big fans of spinach dip and artichoke dip in our house. This recipe seemed to be somewhat similar to those so I had a feeling that this recipe would go over well in our house.

Instead of spreading all of the au gratin over a loaf of French bread I pulled out a loaf of sliced sourdough bread from the freezer. By doing this we were able to have a little more control over the amount of au gratin we could put on the bread. It also turned this recipe into a future dish to have at a get together.

I did the layers like the recipe recommends but I think next time I make this I would consider stirring all the ingredients together in the casserole dish except for last cup of Parmesan. Keep that last cup of Parmesan on the top because it makes a lovely crust. Other than that, everything about this recipe is amazing. Grab some bunches of Swiss chard from the farmer’s and pop it into the freezer for the holidays!

Enjoy!

2 pounds rainbow Swiss chard, stemmed

4 tablespoons butter

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

nutmeg

2 cups Parmigiano-reggiano, grated

1 loaf French bread, halved lengthwise and crosswise into 4 pieces

2 cloves garlic, halved

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the chard (the pot will be packed) and boil until wilted, about eight to ten minutes. Strain the chard in a colander and rinse under cool water. Using a clean kitchen towel, drain and squeeze out any excess liquid. Coarsely chop.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour for one minute. Whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Cook until thickened slightly.

Layer half of the chard in a medium casserole, then top with half of the bechamel sauce and half of the cheese. Repeat the layers ending with the remaining cheese. Bake until bubbly about 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, add the bread to the oven to toast briefly.

Rub the toasted bread with the cut sides of the garlic. Top each piece with one-quarter of the chard gratin. Serve hot!

Adapted from www.rachaelraymag.com/Recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/rachael-ray-30-minute-meals/swiss-chard-au-gratin