Sautéed Chard with Pancetta

Ingredients
2 bunches Swiss chard, about ³⁄₄ pound
3 ounce pancetta, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₄ teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions
1. Rinse and drain chard; pat dry with paper towels. Trim stalks from chard leaves, reserving stalks and leaves. Coarsely chop stalks to equal 1 cup; discard remaining stalks. Chop leaves.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pancetta to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add garlic and chard stalks to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add half of the chard leaves to pan; sauté 1 minute or until leaves wilt, stirring frequently. Add remaining chard leaves and pepper to pan, sauté 1 minute or until leaves wilt, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with cheese.

Comments
This is adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.  I’ve never had chard before and this seemed like a nice and simple recipe to start out with.  The verdict is that chard tastes quite a bit like spinach and this dish was very flavorful thanks to the pancetta, garlic, and red pepper as well.  I have a feeling we’ll be getting quite a bit of chard in the weeks to come and it’s nice to know that all three of us found it to be enjoyable.

The original recipe only called for an ounce of pancetta but 3 ounces came home from the store and, well, pig fat is tasty fat so it all got used.

Cooking Light