Swiss Shard Gratin : Gratin de Blettes : LCB at Home : Lesson 4 : Part 3

I've never done anything with Swiss Chard before. There's two types: Green and Red (the color of the stem); I chose green.

This is as healthy as can be. Veggies, but with béchamel and crème fraiche to balance the goodness of the primary ingredient.

Swiss Shard Gratin : Gratin de Blettes

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 kilo Swiss Chard [2#]
  
  
• 1/2 kilo mushrooms (sliced) [1#]
• butter
• salt
• pepper
• crème fraiche, a little
  
  
• béchamel, a light one
• crème fraiche, a little more
  
  
• crème fraiche, yet more
• gruyere cheese, grated

Procedure

1. Separate stems and leaves of the chard
   • Rinse the leaves; then blanch in salted boiling water - 2 minutes - drain
   • peel the stalks with a potato peeler to remove the worst of the strings (like celery)
   • Cut stalks to 5 cm lengths [2"] - cook for 10 minutes (until tender but still with some crunch) - drain
     
     
2. Sauté the sliced mushrooms in a little butter until the water's all gone
   • Salt and pepper to taste
3. Add a 1/4 C of crème fraiche and reduce until saucy
   
   
4. Make a light béchamel
   • do a roux of 2 T butter and 1/4 C flour - stir it around for 2 minutes
   • add 1¾ C milk and cook until thickened (think... thick ketchup)
   • add nutmeg, pepper, salt for flavour (don't be shy about it either) - remove from the heat
   • Add a 1/2 C crème fraiche to the béchamel
     
     
5. Squeeze the chard leaves until quite dry, chop randomly
6. Add 1/3 of the béchamel to the chard leaves and stir
7. In another bowl, add another 1/3 of the béchamel to the chard stalks and stir
8. Taste both and add salt (and/or pepper) as needed (it probably will)
   
   
9. Assemble the casserole:
   1. In an oiled gratin dish (or something oven-proof)
   2. ½ the chard leaves
   3. the mushroom mix
   4. the other ½ of the chard leaves
   5. the chard stems/stalks
   6. the last 1/3 of the béchamel
   7. the grated gruyere cheese
10. Bake at 200 C [425 F] for 10 minutes (until bubbly and a lovely brown)

Done

Notes

1. You can (and I did) assemble hours ahead. If so, cover tightly with plastic wrap.
2. Alternately, assemble up until the last step of the béchamel , cover and store away. A half hour before serving pour on the last of the béchamel, sprinkle on the cheese, then cook.

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