Dinner with Chet.

Tonight I made a scrumptious swiss chard gratin while listening to Chet Baker. Cozy food, familiar melancholy, the end of the weekend.

Taken from (and mildly tweaked) Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food:

1 bunch swiss chard (I used ruby)
1 onion or 2 leeks, green stalks discarded
1/2 - 3/4 c milk
4 tb butter
2 tsp flour
1 c fresh breadcrumbs
Parmesan cheese
Nutmeg
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Liberally butter a gratin dish or similar weighty baking dish. A pie dish would work just as well in a pinch.

Melt 2 tb of butter, pour over breadcrumbs and toss. Toast in preheated oven until golden brown, 8-10 minutes.

Slice the chard leaves off the stems. Trim the stem ends and slice thin. Wash chard leaves well and slice horizontally into thick ribbons.



Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the sliced stems for about 2 minutes and remove. Add the chard leaves and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and gently squeeze excess water from leaves.

Dice onion into small cubes or slice leeks thin (I used leeks and thought their earthy taste was a better match for the chard than your standard onion, but both are good.) Heat remaining 2 tb of butter in a large saute pan, add leeks and saute until soft but not browned. Season.

Add chard leaves and stems and toss to coat. **Note: in retrospect, at this point I might have added a good squeeze of lemon juice or white wine to liven up the flavor a bit. I think it would provide a good acidic point of contrast in the milky sauce. If you decide to do this, just let the lemon or wine (a tablespoon or so is all you'd need) cook down before moving on to the next step.**

Sprinkle chard with flour and stir to combine. Add 1/2 c milk and toss to coat, allowing sauce to form. If the pan begins to dry out, add the rest of the milk and cook until slightly thickened. The chard should be moist and coated with the sauce, not floating in milk, not sticking to the pan. Give the whole lot a good dose of freshly grated nutmeg. Taste and check for salt & pepper.



Turn chard mixture into your gratin dish, top with toasted breadcrumbs, and give it a once-over with fresh grated parmesan (Alice Waters said to dot the top with butter, but I opted for cheese instead). Cook for 20-25 minutes until golden and lightly bubbling. Let sit for a few minutes before digging in.