Big River Farms CSA Share: Week 2
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
Last week’s CSA share was another lush assortment of greens – spinach, swiss chard, lettuce – as well as a zucchini, sugar snap peas and broccoli. A beautiful share it was, but unfortunately I do not have a photo to share. (I know I took one, but as I write this I’m on the Oregon coast and can’t seem to find it).
I did make several great meals with my share, but I am most interested to talk about the swiss chard.
The previous week, I loved my kale so much that I was very excited to try a quick sautee of the chard to serve with another pork dish. I had consulted my sister, a chard enthusiast, and she confirmed her love for the greens sauteed in olive oil and garlic with a light sprucing of red pepper flakes and lemon juice. But, to me…the leaves were just too bitter.
I had made a swiss chard gratin in the winter, chard greens and stems in a creamy sauce with gruyere, that was fantastically good. But with my remaining chard, I wanted to make something lighter than the previous deliciously, heavy dish. After another consultation with my sister, we decided I should go back to my staple…and create a meal a creamy egg dish.
The result was, perhaps, the best omelet I’ve ever eaten. I started by caramelizing a quarter of an onion and then adding the chard leaves to wilt. In another pan, I crisped up two slices of bacon that had been cut into small pieces. These pieces were added to the onion and chard to await the filling on my omelet.
The omelet was cooked until the top was just barely set and then the filling added, as well as feta crumbles. The creamy eggs, salty bacon, and sweet onions were a perfect balance for the bitter greens. And the feta…well, everything tastes better with feta.
