9.09.2008

Project Weeknight: Swiss Chard & Chickpeas

My SO got entranced at the little farmer's market last week and bought a butt-ton of fresh produce, including a bunch of swiss chard. I've never dealt with it before but I have been intending to broaden my use of dark leafy greens beyond romaine, spinach, and kale. Eventually.

Looked like the time had come. I searched around a bit and found this recipe from Epicurious mentioned on Adam's blog.

The recipe seemed a little... stark, but sometimes really good tastes can come from very simple ingredients, and besides, I had this swiss chard laying around.

The good news is that it came together really fast. The bad news is that my son was not interested in it in any way, shape, or form. I really didn't expect him to like it, so maybe you're thinking this doesn't qualify was a true Project Weeknight dish, but tough kitties!

Anyway, the dish itself was not a home-run but was definitely promising. I was a little short on chard and a little over on chickpeas so the CP:SC (Chickpea to Swiss Chard) ratio was a little off. More chard would have been better. My SO thought it could have used more lemon but I don't think I want it to be a 'lemony' dish. I'll probably use some (or all) of a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes next time -- I'd rather have most of the acidic twang come from tomatoes with just a boost from the lemon. I'll use more onion and garlic, and I may add a little additional seasoning (cumin, anyone?) as suggested by some of the reviewers on Epicurious.

I served it over quinoa which was good but we've eaten a lot of quinoa lately and I'm getting a little over-served on it. Next time I may just serve it alone. One of the reviewers suggested crusty bread. I could go for that.

Overall, with some minor adjustments it will work for weeknights... except that my son doesn't like it. But that's why the universe gave us Blue Box, right?
 

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