Swiss Chard Recipe

If you’ve ever seen swiss chard before you’re probably wondering why I’m including it in this Panini Recipes blog.  Surely since it’s a leafy green vegetable it belongs on a salad blog right?  Wrong.  Swiss chard is a delicious ingredient for a panini sandwich as I’m going to demonstrate with this swiss chard recipe.

With cooking the swiss chard there’s two ways you can go.  In both cases you’ll need a pot of boiling water to blanch the leafy greens.  Just drop the leaves (remove the stems) into the boiling water for a minute or so.  Just long enough to soften the leaves but not long enough to make mush.  Then scoop out the chard and place it in an ice bath.  If you want a quick short cut in you’re not into the trouble of blanching then drain the chard in a spagetti strainer and run some cold water over it.  The cold will get the chard to stop cooking and it’ll also make it less bitter.  The other way you can prepare it would be to take the blanched chard and fry it up in garlic and oil.  Be sure to dry it as best as you can before putting it in a pan with hot oil in it (about 2 tablespoons).  You don’t want it to splatter all over you.

Now that you’ve got some cooked chard you’re ready to make a panini.  As usual with my lunch ingredients, sometimes I’ll make the swiss chard on the weekend and have it ready to go for the early morning lunch making rush.

Swiss Chard Ricotta Panini Recipe

• Swiss Chard
• Ricotta Cheese
• Italian Bread
• Chopped Sun-Dried tomatoes (optional)

All you have to do now is slice up the bread, add some cooked swiss chard and a scoop of ricotta cheese on it.  If that sounds a little too bland for you then feel free to added up some chopped sun-dried tomatoes on there too.

There you have it, one swiss chard recipe for the panini grill.