braised swiss chard with chilli and garlic

bietole brasate con peperoncini e aglio

for 6

500 g Swiss chard

500 g ruby chard

500 g Bright Lights chard

Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

3 small dried red chillies, crumbled

2 tablespoons chopped fresh fennel herb

3 lemons, cut into wedges

Ruby chard and Bright Lights have tougher stalks than Swiss chard. Cut these off about 5 cm from the base of the leaf. Swiss chard in the summer has broader, more tender stalks and they are good to eat if they are white and crisp. If still green, cut them off as with the coloured chard. Cut the white stalks into 1 cm slices.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. If you have them, cook the stalks first for 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Cook the remaining leaves – you may have to do this in batches – for 5 minutes or until tender but still a little al dente. Drain and cool.

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a very large, thick-bottomed frying pan. Add the garlic and cook briefly to soften it and flavour the oil, then add the crumbled chilli, fennel herb and the chard leaves and stalks. Stir them around in the pan to collect the flavours, then season generously. Serve with lemon wedges.