We all know Mary Poppins’ famous line, “A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.” I believe this same philosophy can be applied to eating your veggies. A little bit of sweetness makes most vegetables taste a lot better. You can roast them, which gives them a sweet caramelization. You can also just straight up add some sugar. Or in the case of this Sauteed Swiss Chard and Craisins recipe, you can add some fruit and sweet vinegar.
A little bit of apple cider vinegar, a handful of craisins (dried cranberries), and fresh chopped apples turn plain swiss chard into something everyone will be excited to eat. Plus by adding just a few simple sweet elements, you’ve turned this vegetable dish into one you would find on a restaurant menu too.
Do you ever cook vegetables with a bit of sweetness? Share how you do it in the comments below.
Technique Smarts:
Our ‘sauteed vegetables’ cooking formula is a quick and easy way to cook your greens:
Equipment Smarts:
Cast iron skillets are indestructible, so long as you don’t use soap to wash them. We use ours for everything from sautéing greens to baking frittatas.
- Ingredients
- Garlic – 3 cloves, minced
- Swiss chard – 1 to 2 bunches, stems chopped, leaves torn
- Cooking oil – 1 1/2 tbs.
- Craisins – 1/4 cup
- Apple cider vinegar – 2 tbs.
- Apples – 1, sliced
- Pine nuts – 2 tbs.
- Garlic / Swiss chard (chard can be prepped just like kale as you’ll see in the video) – Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil and then garlic to heated oil. Once you can smell the garlic, add the chard stems with a dash of salt. Saute until softened, 3 minutes. Add in craisins and then leaves, as much as can fit into the pan at one time. Add more as room is made. Finish with apple cider vinegar and then season to taste with salt and pepper. Slice apples and fold into chard. Top with pine nuts.
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