News from a butcher

Sometimes I read something so interesting, informative and generally thought-provoking that I don't feel like writing anything myself. Today became one of those days when I read Jace's post over at Accidental Hedonist. Go check it out.

Swiss chard

I've been getting really into swiss chard recently. Here's why.

It's tasty. I find the taste to be something like a cross between lettuce and (cooked) spinach, with a bit of Belgian endive thrown in. There's a hint of bitterness, but just enough to offset the very green-vegetable-ish taste of the chard. The bitterness adds character and sharpness to a taste that would otherwise be relatively unremarkable. It's also a taste that combines magically with other things (unlike, say, brussels sprouts—I love them, but they can hardly be used, as chard can, as a vehicle for other flavors). And the texture of swiss chard, when cooked right, is fantastic—a good dose of sloppy leafishness, but held together with a palate-pleasing soft crunch. It's sort of like the texture of cooked asparagus with leaves, if you can imagine that.

It's nutritious. Swiss chard is extraordinarily high in vitamins K, A and C, has loads of iron, and a fair bit of calcium thrown in. Check out this graph if you want to feel good about yourself while you're eating it (and if you're the kind of person who needs an excuse to indulge in the pleasures of bacon fat, as in my recipe for swiss chard below).

It's fun and easy to cook. I always blanch and schock my chard before doing anything else to it. This expels gases from the vegetable, removing an overpowering edge of bitterness; and it fixes the color a bright, bright green. And it can be done well in advance of the final heating-and-serving, a matter of just a couple of minutes in some butter with salt and pepper, if need be.

I made swiss chard as an accompaniment to a pair of roasted chickens for a small dinner party the other night, and it went perfectly. Here's what I did to the chard.

Step 1: Blanch and shock. Fill a large pot with water and plenty of salt ("It should taste like the sea," says Thomas Keller, and I believe him), and bring to the boil. Add the chard in small doses and boil for a minute or two; as soon as the color is a bright green and the leaves have just started to wilt, remove and plunge into a bowl of ice-water. Repeat this process until all your chard is done. Dry with paper towels, and proceed to the next step some time in the next few hours.

Step 2: Heat through in bacon fat. Cut some good quality smoked bacon or fatty ham into small cubes, and cook in a sauté pan until the fat is rendered. Add the chard, toss quickly until well-coated and warmed through, season with salt and pepper to taste (careful with the salt—the blanching will already have salted the chard), and serve.

Boiled carrots

I've been eating quite a lot of boiled carrots recently, mainly because they're one of the only vegetables my daughter will eat. Until a couple of months ago, I don't think I'd had a boiled carrot in years, and I certainly hadn't made them myself before. And by boiled I mean really boiled: fork-tender all the way through, close to mushy.

I never thought this would happen to me...but I'm starting to like them! They're sweet and savory at the same time; they feel healthy and nutritious, and warming and comforting when you eat them. Give them a try, you'll be surprised.

Here's my method, which works well for me. Peel a few carrots, and cut them into large chunks, about the size of your thumb. (Why peel them? Mainy to get rid of most of the poisons that carrots suck up from the ground in which they're grown. If you think this isn't an issue for organic carrots, think again.) Put them into a pan with enough water to barely cover them, and—this is the crucial part—add a tablespoon of butter and a healthy amount of salt. Bring to the boil, and cook with the lid off, over medium heat, until the carrots are done, about 20 or 25 minutes. Serve, or keep warm in their liquid with the lid on until you're ready.

The great thing about this method is that as the water evaporates while the carrots are cooking, they get more and more buttery. By the time the carrots are done, they'll be coated with a very thin buttery film. Delicious.