honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, October 11, 2006

TASTE
Healthful Swiss chard steps in for spinach in risotto

 •  Don't knock gnocchi

By Jill Wendholt Silva
McClatchy-Tribune News Service

While we're all a bit nervous about eating fresh spinach, try a worthy substitute: Swiss chard.

"If vegetables got grades for traditional nutrients alone, Swiss chard would be the vegetable valedictorian," reports whfoods.com, a nonprofit organization that provides scientific information on foods that promote health.

One cup of Swiss chard is loaded with vitamin K to promote bone health. It's also an excellent source of vitamins A, C and E; iron; calcium; potassium; magnesium; manganese; and dietary fiber.

Chop the leaves of chard, a member of the spinach family, and add them to the usual suspects, including pasta, omelets or lasagna. The tender greens can be prepared like spinach, while the crisp stalks should be chopped, steamed and cooked like asparagus.

Or try this recipe for slow cooker risotto with Swiss chard.

If you've made risotto from scratch, it is easy to understand why restaurants charge big bucks for a dish made from inexpensive ingredients. The constant stirring required for the grains of rice to absorb liquid is truly labor-intensive.

To get around the labor, dust off your slow cooker and let it cook the rice and greens together into a creamy, one-pot meal.

Arborio rice is an Italian-grown, high-starch, short-grain rice that is traditionally used in making risotto because it easily absorbs liquid to give it a creamy texture.

SLOW COOKER RISOTTO WITH SWISS CHARD

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

  • 1 1/4 cups uncooked Arborio rice

  • 2 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

  • 1/2 cup dry white wine

    Dash salt

  • 1/2 bunch Swiss chard, rinsed clean, well dried and coarsely chopped

    Optional:

  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

    Heat oil in small skillet. Add onion and cook until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.

    Place in slow cooker. Add rice and toss well to coat. Stir in chicken broth, wine, salt and Swiss chard. Cover and cook on high 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until all liquid is absorbed. Stir in cheese and serve.

    Makes 6 to 8 servings.

  • Per serving, based on 6: 209 calories (16 percent from fat), 4 g total fat (1 g saturated), 3 mg cholesterol, 33 g carbohydrate, 11 grams protein, 413 mg sodium, trace dietary fiber

    If you add optional 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese: 219 calories (18 percent from fat), 4 g total fat (2 g saturated), 5 mg cholesterol, 34 g carbohydrate, 12 g protein, 454 mg sodium, trace dietary fiber

    Recipe developed by home economists Kathryn Moore and Roxanne Wyss.