Garlic Sauteed Swiss Chard with Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta

This was a decadent tasting but relatively healthy lunch that I enjoyed immensely. The creamy polenta works well with the texture of the Swiss chard stems. The tangy flavor of the goat cheese compliments the slightly sweet, slightly acidic flavor of the balsamic. Both are balanced out by a generous helping of spicy crushed red pepper flakes and a healthy dose of garlic. As an added bonus, this dish is really pretty thanks to the colorful Swiss chard stems and bright green leaves. If you wanted to make this more substantial, a poached egg on top would be a welcome addition to the flavor party.

Garlic Sauteed Swiss Chard with Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta

Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta:

3 cups water

1 cup polenta

3 tbs. goat cheese

1/2 cup milk

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Whisk in polenta, and reduce heat to medium low. Whisking frequently, cook until polenta is cooked through and most of the water is evaporated, about 20 minutes. Add goat cheese and milk and whisk to combine. Cook another 5 minutes until milk is absorbed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Garlic Sauteed Swiss Chard:

1 bunch Swiss chard

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium spring onion, chopped

1 tbs. olive oil

1 tbs. butter

2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 tbs. balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Prepare the Swiss chard for cooking by cutting off the tough ends of the stems. Line up the ends of the stems of the Swiss chard and cut every 2-3″ width wide. Set aside.

Heat olive oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add Swiss chard and saute, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Add crushed red pepper flakes and balsamic vinegar. Cook another 30 seconds to one minute, until balsamic is mostly evaporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve Swiss chard over cooked polenta.

Crispy Polenta and Braised Swiss Chard with Cod Poached in White Wine

I apologize for the slow-down in posts this week.  I’m finishing up my first set of law school exams on Monday, so I’ve been preoccupied with studying and have been relying mostly on old standbys for dinners.  Thus, not too much to report.

Today, I decided to spend a little bit of time in the kitchen and wanted to make use of a wonderful present from my future sister-in-law: Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.  It’s a book I’ve been meaning to buy for awhile now but for some reason never got around to it.  It was a perfect gift and I’ll certainly be using it as a source of inspiration and recipes for many years to come.  Thanks, Abbie!

This dish was healthy, colorful, and packed with flavor.  The instructions look like a lot of work, but it was really very easy.  Other than the cooking and chilling of the polenta, this dish came together in 25 minutes or so.  I made the polenta yesterday, so there was very little work involved in this dish today.  I loved how it had all the classic flavors of a fish fry thanks to the crispy bread-like flavors of the polenta and the bright lemon of the Swiss chard but very little of the cholesterol and fat.  Yum!

Crispy Polenta and Braised Swiss Chard with Cod Poached in White Wine

Crispy Polenta:

6 cups homemade seafood stock

2 1/2 cups polenta

2 tbs. Brummel & Brown, divided

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

3/4 cup coarsely grated very sharp cheddar

3 tbs. garlic hot sauce, divided

1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt, to taste

Non-stick cooking spray

Bring seafood stock to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and slowly whisk in polenta.  The mixture should be relatively soupy.  Stirring occasionally, let simmer 15-20 minutes until polenta is tender and most of the stock has evaporated/been absorbed.

Add 1 tbs. Brummel & Brown, plain Greek yogurt, cheddar and 2 tbs. of hot sauce, whisking constantly.  Taste for seasoning and add kosher salt and other ingredients as necessary.

Spray a  6″ x 10″ casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray (or whatever size you prefer – the smaller the dish, the longer you will need to chill the polenta).  Pour the polenta into the dish and drizzle with remaining tbs. of hot sauce.  Let cool to room temperature.  Transfer to refrigerator and chill until set, preferably overnight but at least 6-8 hours.

In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil and remaining 1 tbs. Brummel & Brown over medium-high heat.  Add a 4″ x 4″ slice of polenta and sauté 4-5 minutes per side until light golden brown.

Place in preheated 350º oven to keep warm.  If you have a sous-chef or don’t mind a mad scramble at the end of a dish coming together, this isn’t necessary.  Simply wait until the fish is about to come out of the oven and begin to sauté polenta.

[Note: This recipe makes more polenta than you will use for the braised Swiss chard and cod poached in white wine presentation pictured above.  A few ideas for how to use the polenta before chilling include Merlot Mushrooms with Lemon Kohlrabi Greens and Polenta, Stuffed Cubanelles with Chipotle Sauce and Creamy Polenta, and Butternut Squash Polenta with Spicy Spinach and Shredded Pork.  After setting, consider Roasted Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Tomato Polenta and Eggs, and Pan Fried Polenta with Chilies, Corn, and a Fried Egg.  Simply substitute the recipe above for the recipe included and you’ll have a nice meal on your hands.]

Cod Poached in White Wine:

Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

1 tbs. green onions, whites finely minced and green ends roughly chopped, 2 tbs. green ends reserved

2 fillets Pacific cod, defrosted if frozen (thicker fillets work better for this recipe)

2 tbs. Brummel & Brown, plus more for buttering

1 cup white wine, chilled (I used pinot grigio)

3 tbs. bottled clam juice, chilled

Water (if necessary)

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 350°.

Butter a small  oven proof cast iron sauce pan with Brummel & Brown.  Sprinkle half of the onion whites on the bottom of the dish.  Season the fillets lightly with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper and arrange them on the bottom of the dish.  Sprinkle the fillets with remaining onions and dot with 1 tbs. Brummel & Brown.  Pour in the white wine and clam juice.  If necessary, add cold water to barely cover.

Over low heat, bring liquid to almost a simmer.  Poaching liquid should be shimmering but not simmering.  Cover sauce pan with buttered waxed paper (I used aluminum foil, which may discolor the wine, but I didn’t have waxed paper.  It turned out fine nevertheless.).  Place the sauce pan in the bottom third of preheated oven.  Poach, maintaining the liquid at a near-simmer, for 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.  When cooked, a fork should pierce the flesh easily but the fish should not be dry or overly flaky.

[While fish is poaching, begin to sauté braised swiss chard per below.]

Carefully remove the fish from the poaching liquid and place on a covered dish to keep warm.

Remove about 1/2 cup of poaching liquid.  Place the sauce pan with remaining poaching liquid over medium-high heat and add remaining 1 tbs. Brummel & Brown.  Briskly simmer the poaching liquid until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

Braised Swiss Chard:

5-6 stems Swiss Chard, leaves removed from stems, all roughly chopped

3/4 cup reserved poaching liquid from above (can also use 1/2 cup of white wine or 1/2 cup of seafood or other stock)

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

2 tbs. olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.  Add Swiss chard stems and sauté until slightly tender, roughly 3-5 minutes.  Add Swiss chard leaves and stir to coat with olive oil and disperse garlic.  Sauté 2-3 minutes until leaves are slightly wilted.  Add lemon juice and reserved poaching liquid and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low, uncovered, and cook until Swiss chard is soft and liquid has evaporated/been absorbed, about 5-8 minutes

Assembly:

2 squares crispy polenta (see above)

2 fillets cod poached in white wine (see above)

3 cups braised Swiss chard (see above)

2 tbs. green ends of green onions, reserved from above

Place square of crispy polenta on the plate.  Top with a heaping serving spoon filled with braised Swiss chard.  Top with fish.  Spoon reduced poaching liquid over fillets.  Garnish with green ends of green onions reserved from cod poached in white win

Swiss Chard and Smashed Potatoes

The plan for this evening was to make some pumpkin and carrot ravioli with some olive oil and garlic tossed Swiss chard.  Don’t get too exited, because that’s not the recipe that follows.  I failed – miserably – to produce said ravioli.  I roasted and pureed the pumpkin and carrots, prepped the Swiss chard, and then we had a bit of a pasta mishap.  I got one measly ravioli out of a couple hours of prep.  Boooo.  Double boo in that the one ravioli (though flawed due to overly thick and gummy dough) was pretty darn delicious, and left me craving more.

Following is the  recipe I whipped together in order to replace the ravioli.  I’m still a little depressed about the mound of food that went straight into the trash, but yummy roasted potatoes combined with some lovely Swiss chard and kohlrabi cheered me up significantly.  This dish is incredibly easy to put together and packed with flavor and nutrients, while very low in fat and cholesterol.

Swiss Chard and Smashed Potatoes

10 baby potatoes, halved

3 tbs. olive oil, divided

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

3 cloves whole marinated garlic, roughly chopped

5 ribs Swiss chard, rinsed, center ribs removed from leaves, leaves and ribs roughly chopped

1/2 tbs. white wine vinegar

1 kohlrabi bulb, cut into thin sticks

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 tsp. dried dill weed

Kosher salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400º.

Cover a baking sheet with tinfoil.  Toss potatoes with 2 tbs. olive oil, kosher salt, and crushed red pepper flakes.  Roast for 25-35 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, toss kohlrabi with lemon juice, kosher salt, and dried dill weed.  Set aside.

Heat remaining olive oil in a large sauté pan.  Add garlic and Swiss chard ribs and sauté until tender, roughly 5 minutes.  Add Swiss chard greens and sauté until wilted, 3-5 minutes.  Add potatoes and white wine vinegar and smash slightly with a wooden spoon.  Stir thoroughly to combine and smash potatoes again.  Add kohlrabi with lemon juice and toss.