5th Week of CSA: July 13 - July 17

In your share this week:

Kale

Cucumbers (lemon and marketmore)

A bundle of herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary or oregano)

Summer Squash

Rainbow Chard

Thomas Keller’s RAINBOW CHARD WITH RAISINS, PINE NUTS, AND SERRANO HAM:

Ingredients:

2 T pine nuts
Kosher salt
4 lbs rainbow chard (if the chard you find has very large stems, buy 5 lbs to get enough greens)
about 1/4 C canola oil
2 T finely chopped garlic
1 oz thinly sliced serrano ham, cut crosswise into 1/4″ strips (pancetta or bacon will work too)
2 T Wine-Steeped Golden Raisins
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Spread the pine nuts on one of the lined pans and toast in the oven for about 10 minute, until evenly browned. Remove from the oven, transfer to a plate, sprinkle with salt, and let cool.

Cut out the thick stems from the leaves of chard and set aside. Stack the greens in batches and cut crosswise into thirds; set aside. Trim the stems and cut them on the diagonal into 1-inch slices. You need 2 cups of stems for this recipe (reserve any remaining chard for another use).

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the chard stems and blanch until tender but still slightly resistant to the tooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and spread on the second parchment-lined baking sheet.

Pour 1 1/2 T canola oil into each of two large saute pans and heat over medium heat (if you have only one large pan, cook the greens in 2 batches). Add 1 T garlic to each pan, reduce the heat, and cook over medium-low heat until softened but not colored, about 1 minute. Add one-quarter of the chard greens to each pan, season with salt (salt lightly if your ham is very salty), and cook for 3 to 5 minutes over medium to medium-low heat, until the chard wilts to about half its original volume.

Add the remaining chard and cook until wilted and tender, 15 to 20 minutes total. Spread the greens, with their liquid, on the third lined sheet.

To serve, heat some oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the ham and saute for about 45 seconds until it turns crisp. Add the pine nuts and raisins and toss.

Add the chard stems and greens, toss to combine, and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!