Our Swiss chard made a complete rebound after its premature pruning by the neighborhood rabbits and this is our first harvest. Yay !!! Now what? Well, there are a number of things to do with this leafy green, traditionally it involves a warm bacon dressing. I had come across a recipe for beet green gratin by Emily C. and thought I would see if Swiss chard would be a good candidate for a gratin. I was lucky that cooler weather corresponded with this recipe investigation so turning on the oven was not going to be an issue. I plan to stop with the stove top portion of the recipe and add that as a side dish when the temps outside get too hot to think about turning on the oven. While there will be more fun recipes to try in the growing season ahead with this colorful green, this one proved to be a success at our dinner table.

Swiss Chard Gratin

by Inspired by the Seasons

8 cups of Swiss chard greens, sliced into 1" strips
Stems from the Swiss chard, cut into 1" pieces, will be around 1 1/2 cups
4 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped into small pieces
1 1/2 c chopped onion
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
1/2 c milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T Olive oil plus additional for cooking
1 c panko bread crumbs
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
4 oz. crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, grease a 8" baking dish

Using a fork, stir breadcrumbs, thyme and olive oil in a small bowl until combined, add feta and set aside.

In a 12" skillet heat olive oil and cook the onions on medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add Swiss chard stems and cook an additional 3 minutes. Add greens and cook until wilted. Add cubed cream cheese and milk to pan and simmer until reduced to until becomes a creamy consistency which took me about 5 minutes. Stir in pepper flakes and bacon. Transfer to prepared baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake for 20 minutes or until the topping is brown and the mixture is bubbling. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.