Chard is not difficult to grow. The difficulty comes in deciding what to do with the copious amounts of chard you have grown, after the first few days of steaming, stir frying and dressing in salads. Here's a nice, easy recipe for packages that make great appetizers or a side for an Asian main dish, but that are also portable enough for a summer picnic. Serve them warm or cold.
2 lbs (around 30 leaves) of Swiss chard
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp fine Japanese soy sauce
2 tbsp peanut oil
few drops toasted sesame oil
handful toasted sesame seeds
Bring 6 pints water to the boil in a large pan. Meanwhile, trim all but 3" of stem off each chard leaf. Blanch whole leaves in water for 3 minutes, in 2 or 3 batches, depending on the capacity of your pan. Try to place in pan with stems in water and leaves exposed, as the stems take longer, and the leaves will cook in the steam if your pan has a lid.
Remove chard, drain and place on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels to absorb residual moisture and to cool. When the chard is all cooked and cooling, press the garlic cloves into a bowl. Add the oils and allow to infuse.
To make the chard parcels: take a leaf, fold the stem in half and wind the leafy green around it fairly tightly so it holds its shape. When you have made all the packages up, heat the garlic-oil mixture gently in a 10" skillet. Carefully add the parcels to the skillet. Drizzle soy sauce evenly over them and cover the pan. Fry on low for 2 minutes then turn off heat.
Transfer packages to serving dish and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.
