One of the joys of gardening is experiencing vegetables that are not regularly found in the market. Swiss chard thrives in much of this country and must have been found in many Victory Gardens because magazines ran a variety of recipes that featured it.
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pounds Swiss chard
4 teaspoons melted margarine or butter
⅛ teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
Bring 2 inches water and the salt to a boil in a large heavy saucepan. Rinse chard; separate stems from leaves. Cut stems into 2-inch pieces; cut leaves crosswise into 1-inch strips.
Add stems to boiling water; cook until tender—about 10 minutes. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Add leaves to boiling water; cook 5 minutes. Drain leaves very well and toss with 2 teaspoons margarine and the pepper. Mound in center of serving plate. Drain stems well and toss with remaining 2 teaspoons margarine. Arrange around edge of plate. Drizzle with vinegar or lemon juice and serve.
4 Servings
“To put it bluntly, most of us are going to be lucky to get a salad, these days. For the duration, we may as well make up our minds to say goodbye to many of the succulent salads we used to enjoy, for one of the casualties of war on the home-food-front is the salad.”—Successful Salads: How to Make and Use Them During Rationing and Wartime Food Scarcities, 1943