Swiss chard crustless quiche

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My family overdid the dessert thing during Christmas week. We were lucky to receive plate after plate of delicious goodies from friends and relatives. Meaning we all ate a ton of cookies, cake, candy, and other snack foods for days on end.

You too? Yep, I thought so.

I went to the farmers market this weekend and loaded up on greens. Beet greens, kale, and a huge bunch of Swiss chard that was so big it didn't fit in the refrigerator.

I stripped the green chard leaves from their ruby-red stems, chopped the leaves, and cooked them for just a few minutes with a little olive oil and garlic. When they were cool I mixed in eggs, crumbled feta cheese, shredded mozzarella, chopped green onions, and a little Bisquick to bind everything together before baking in a casserole dish.

The result: a firm, nutrient-rich snack my family loves. I've served this in squares for breakfast and lunch. I've cut it into small triangles or batons and put it out at parties. No matter what shape you serve it in, I guarantee good results.

P.S. What did I do with the Swiss chard stems? Stay tuned for the most gorgeous pickles you've ever seen....

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Swiss chard crustless quiche

by Erika Kerekes December-30-2013

This nutrient-rich snack is packed with healthy Swiss chard. Serve it at breakfast or lunch, or cut it into small triangles or batons as a healthy finger food appetizer for your next party.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 large bunch Swiss chard, washed, leaves only, chopped roughly (reserve stems for another use)
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup low-moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/2 cup Bisquick (or another all-purpose baking mix)
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk (optional)

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x12-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chard and garlic and saute about 3 minutes, until chard is wilted but not mushy. Pour the chard mixture into a large mixing bowl and let cool 10 minutes.Add the eggs, cheese, green onions, dill, Bisquick, pepper, and salt. Mix thoroughly until well combined. Add the milk only if the batter seems dry or extremely thick. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.Bake about 40 minutes, until the quiche is set in the middle and the top is golden brown. Cool in the baking pan. Cut into squares, triangles, or batons to serve.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 8 servings as a vegetarian main course, or 20+ servings as an hors d'oeuvre

A Very Blueberry Thanksgiving: Blueberry butternut squash salad

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A colorful autumn salad for your Thanksgiving table (photo: Karen Ard)

Last weekend I hosted a group of food bloggers for A Very Blueberry Thanksgiving, a pre-holiday celebration sponsored by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and Wines from Rioja. I made a huge traditional Thanksgiving feast with one big twist: Every dish on this Thanksgiving menu included fresh, frozen, or dried blueberries.

If you've only thought about blueberries as dessert, it's time to consider their savory side. I particularly love the combination of blueberries with balsamic vinegar, as in this autumn salad. I layered roasted cubes of butternut squash, caramelized red onions, toasted pumpkin seeds, fresh blueberries, and crisp green lettuce in a large bowl, then poured over a thick vinaigrette made with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and dried blueberries.

Turkey, schmurkey: Say it's because we're Californians, but this salad was one of the bloggers' favorite dishes at our Thanksgiving celebration.

Here's some good news: Fresh blueberries are getting easier to find in the fall and winter due to thousands of acres of cultivated blueberries recently planted in Chile, Argentina and Mexico. The blueberries we had at A Very Blueberry Thanksgiving were plump, juicy, and sweet. Look for fresh blueberries from the southern hemisphere to add to your Thanksgiving menu - you'll be glad you did.

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Blueberry Butternut Squash Salad

by Erika Kerekes November-15-2013

A layered green salad with roasted butternut squash, caramelized red onions, fresh blueberries, and toasted pumpkin seeds with a blueberry balsamic vinaigrette. Serve this colorful, healthy salad at Thanksgiving for a twist on tradition.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried blueberries
• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 large butternut squash
• 1 large red onion
• 1 large head green leaf lettuce, washed, torn into small pieces
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

First, make the blueberry balsamic vinaigrette. (This step can be done several days ahead.) Put the dried blueberries and balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down the heat, and simmer about 30 minutes, until the vinegar is reduced by about a third and the blueberries are plump and rehydrated. Let the mixture cool a bit, then put it in a blender with 1 cup of olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Blend until very smooth. If working ahead, store in the refrigerator until you begin the rest of the steps below.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.Peel the butternut squash with a vegetable peeler and cut the flesh into 1-inch chunks. Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Put the vegetables on a baking sheet and drizzle with the remaining 1 Tablespoon olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Roast in the oven until brown around the edges and very tender, 30-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to just warm.Make a bed of lettuce in a serving bowl or on a large serving platter. Mound the squash and onions in the middle. Sprinkle the blueberries and pumpkin seeds on top. Drizzle the entire salad generously with the blueberry balsamic vinaigrette in a zig-zag pattern. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 10-12 servings

Euro Greens creamy green soup {dairy-free}

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It pays to have friends in high places.

A few weeks ago I ended up with a half-dozen bags of assorted greens from Cut 'n Clean Greens, a local southern California company that grows all kinds of greens and packages them in ready-to-eat-or-cook bags and plastic containers. My friend Dorothy of Shockingly Delicious has been working for them for a while now. When we planned the "Kale-a-palooza" event for our Food Bloggers Los Angeles group, Dorothy brought the Cut 'n Clean folks and trucked along a whole mess o' greens to give out to the group.

I particularly liked their bagged Euro Greens mix, which contains Swiss chard, mustard greens, turnip greens, and kale. I turned it into a deliciously creamy green soup.

Nothing could be easier than this creamy soup. You start with onions and garlic. When they've sweated with a little olive oil, you add the bag of greens, one potato, and chicken broth. Cook, blend, done. Maybe finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Why the potato? It gives the soup a little body and a creamy mouth feel, even without cream.

Throw in a few croutons, a handful of popcorn, or some Goldfish crackers, and even the kids won't complain. Not that mine ever complain about soup. Well, hardly ever.

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Euro Greens creamy green soup

by Erika Kerekes February-13-2013

This soup uses one bag of Cut 'n Clean Greens' Euro Greens mix. It's creamy but contains no cream!

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 12-ounce bag Cut 'n Clean Greens Euro Greens mix
• 1 small potato, unpeeled, diced (any variety)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 fresh lemon, juice only
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.Add the greens, potato and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer the soup about 20 minutes, until the greens and potato are very tender. Blend the soup until smooth using a hand-held immersion blender or a countertop blender. Return the soup to the pot (if using a countertop blender). Add the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 25 mins Yield: 6-8 servings

Swiss chard and bacon pie

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Last year I was lucky to work with wellness coach Rachael Pontillo of Holistically Haute Wellness. In our sessions we talked about everything from nutrition to stress relief to feeding our families.

I wasn't a perfect student, but I realized yesterday that my work with Rachael had one lasting impact: When I open the refrigerator in the morning, my first thought is "How am I going to get my leafy greens in today?" Baby steps are better than no steps at all.

I'm pretty sure this swiss chard and bacon galette wouldn't be Rachael's first choice for a greens delivery system, but it sure was delicious. Greens with bacon are better than no greens at all.

I used a prepared refrigerated pie crust because I was short on time, but feel free to use your favorite homemade pie crust recipe.

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Swiss chard and bacon galette

by Erika Penzer Kerekes January-26-2013

This free-form pie is a great way to get your greens - it uses an entire bunch of chard, including the stems.

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound bacon, diced
• 1/2 large or 1 small onion, diced
• 1 large bunch Swiss chard, any color, leaves and stems, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (substitute Monterey jack, gruyere or your favorite cheese)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• dough for 9-inch pie crust
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain it on a plate lined with paper towel. Spill out all but 1 teaspoon of the bacon fat.Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped Swiss chard and cook until stems are tender and leaves are wilted, another 6-8 minutes. Pour the Swiss chard mixture into a large bowl and let cool 10 minutes. Add both cheeses, salt and pepper and mix well.Roll the pie crust dough out into a large circle - don't worry, it doesn't have to be pretty. Transfer the dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet by rolling it around the rolling pin, picking it up, and then unrolling it on the parchment. Mound the Swiss chard mixture in the middle of the dough, leaving a generous border of two to three inches. Lift up the edges gently and fold them onto the filling, leaving most of the filling showing in the middle, pleating the border as you go. The edge of the galette (pie) should look very rustic and imperfect.Brush the exposed pie crust with the beaten egg and slip the galette into the oven. Bake about 45 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden. Cool on the pan. Serve at room temperature.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour Yield: 8-10 servings