Katie O'Malley's vegetable garden: Swiss chard?
Photo credit: Flickr/Leeks 'n' Bounds
Swiss chard is to garden greens what zucchini is to garden squash. Plant some and you will harvest enough to feed the world. Chard keeps growing even after the lettuces and the spinach are long gone.
But it is incredibly colorful, and the bounty gives heart to the gardener, especially the first-time gardener.
There was Swiss chard aplenty from Maryland first lady Katie O'Malley's vegetable garden this summer. As a matter of fact, it is still producing.
I asked Government House chef Buz Porciello what he did with all that chard, and he gave me this recipe.
Serves six at an 8 oz. portion of fish
- 3 lbs. rockfish fillets
- 1 lb. jumbo lump crab meat
- 3 lbs. rainbow Swiss chard
- 3 tablespoons minced shallots
- 8 ounces Amontillado Sherry
- 1 quart heavy cream
- crab base – follow manufacturer’s directions for amount needed.
- 4 ounces whole grain Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- butter (optional)
- chives or scallions for garnish
Mince the shallots and put in a sauce pot with the sherry and cook on high until the sherry has reduced by half. Add the cream and crab base; stir and bring to a boil until the sauce thickens slightly. Add the Dijon mustard and salt and pepper to taste.
Season the rockfish fillets with salt and pepper then sauté in a pan with olive oil. Cook on each side for 3-5 minutes until done. While the fish is cooking, sauté the chard in a little olive oil or butter with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté until wilted then drain excess liquid as the chard does contain a fair amount of water.Reheat the sherry Dijon sauce and add the crab meat and stir gently so as not to break up any lumps. Place the cooked chard in the middle of a serving plate, then place the rockfish on top followed by the sherry Dijon crab sauce and garnish with thinly sliced chives or scallions and serve.
