CSA Recipes for Red & Rainbow Chard (Lentil Soup & Tuna Salad)

Maybe this is a winter stew. The lentils make me think of New Years Eve. And supposedly, we're mid-summer. It just doesn't feel like mid-summer in Providence. It's cold and rainy and rainy and torrential-ly rainy. With a fridge full of pretty chard, though, trying out this stew made sense. (Of course, since I wrote this, on 7/1, it's been beautiful!)

Curried Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Stew with Garbanzo Beans
(from Epicurious/Bon Appetit, Dec. 05.)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 5 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 14-ounce cans vegetable broth
• 1 large bunch or 2 small bunches Swiss chard, tough stalks removed, coarsely chopped (about 12 cups)
• 1 pound red lentils (about 2 1/4 cups)
• 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
• Plain yogurt (we skipped the yogurt) -----------------
  

1. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 13 minutes. Mix in curry and cayenne. Add broth and chard. Increase heat; bring to boil. Add lentils and garbanzos; reduce heat to medium.
2. Cover; simmer until lentils are tender, stirring twice, about 10 minutes. Divide stew among bowls. Top with yogurt.
   

Changes for next time: The lentils took a longer to cook than suggested in this recipe, which means the chard cooked and cooked. I'd prefer less cooking time for the chard so that it doesn't dissolve into the stew (pic not shown), but that's just me. So, next time, I'll cook the lentils a bit before adding them, or I'll drop the chard in later (if doing the latter, be sure to cut out the stems, which need a bit longer to cook.) We also added more broth than advised, to thin out the texture just a touch. Mmm. Curry lentil soup.

From FoodieFarmgirl I had the idea of using our chard in a tuna salad (her recipe is Swiss Chard Tuna Salad with Kalamata Olives & Onions). I put together a variation on this with what we had in the fridge.Tuna Salad with Chard and Olives
2 Cans of Tuna
1/2 Can of Kidney beans
3 giant green olives w/ pimentos, chopped
1 T. of olive brine from the jar
2-3 Cups of (Red Rhubarb & Rainbow) Chard, leaves & stems diced
A few stalks of parsley, chopped
Dressing: A squirt or two of spicy mustard + salt & pepper.

Mix well & stuff into a wheat pita. So good.

• Next week: White Bean Dip and Pesto (made with Garlic Scapes).
• Last week's Recipe Rursday: Grilled Shrimp & Veggies.