Cranberry Chard

Cranberry Chard

November 5, 2019

Servings: 4-6

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 10 min

Total: 20 min

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A festive take on braised chard, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday!

By: A Wholesome New World

Ingredients

• 2 bunches of swiss chard
• 3 TBSP olive oil, divided
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced into slivers 1/2-inch thick
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup + more if needed
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Step 1 Prepare chard by cutting the stem out of center of each leaf. Trim ends of each stem, then cut on bias in 1 1/2-inch pieces. Tear leaves into 3 or 4 pieces each.
• Step 2 Rinse the cranberries and discard any mushy or underripe berries and stems. Place a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat and add the cranberries and 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, brown sugar and water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil. Continue boiling over medium heat until the berries start to soften, about 5 minutes. You just want them to soften, not burst, so keep a close eye!
• Step 3 In a medium straight-sided sauté pan, heat 2 TBSP olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and lower heat to low. Cook, stirring frequently until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic clove and chard leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and braise on low heat for 5 minutes, or until chard is just wilted.
• Step 4 Remove from heat and stir in the cranberries. Serve hot, drizzled with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Optionally, you can add crumbled fresh goat cheese on top at last moment before serving.

YUP – it’s that time of year again! I’m all set to host our 3rd annual Thanksgiving and I don’t know about you, but I already feel behind. Thankfully, I have my Thanksgiving menu planning guide to the rescue! This outline keeps me organized and on track every year and eliminates all (well, most of it!) of the stress going into the holiday.

Clearly I’m sticking to the basics – turkey, stuffing, etc, but the sides are where I really get to mix it up every year and I’m always tweaking this section of my menu. This recipe was the brainchild of my chef-in-crime, Marc when we were making duck this past weekend. A sweet cranberry compote of some sort seemed like the dream pairing to crispy duck breast, but we went one step further to include the chard, to tie it all together. Pretty darn gorgeous, don’t you think?

After “testing” the recipe with the duck, we were pretty happy with the result. Who couldn’t use another amazing Thanksgiving side to add to their rotation? I’ve searched high and low for something similar but all other recipes call for dried cranberries. So I’m pretty sure this is a win. Tart and sweet cranberries, silky chard and pretty pops of color to add to your Thanksgiving plate. I hope you’ll give this a whirl and let us know what you think!