I have to confess, I am completely blown away by the artisanal bacon sold at Eataly. The bacon is sourced from a small farm in Wisconsin, and puts store bought bacon to shame. As you can see from the picture above, it is extremely lean and its' rendered fat has a light, silky consistency to it.
I purchased a small piece several weeks ago and was waiting (patiently) for the right opportunity to cash in on the calories. The right opportunity finally presented itself last Saturday, when I picked up 2 beautiful bunches of swiss chard at the vegetable market.
I only recently "discovered" this versatile green, and now I can't get enough of it. It is widely available all year round, and very reasonably priced. Many recipes and videos (see below) recommend throwing away the stem, claiming it is too tough or bitter to eat. This is nonsense. If the swiss chard is young and fresh, the stems are delicious and add a lovely texture and color to any dish. They just need to cook a little longer than the chards.
Swiss chard leaves are deep greeen, but the stems vary in color. The most common varieties have red and white stems, but there are also varieties which have bright yellow stems. Like fresh spinach, swiss chard collects alot of sand and dirt, so be sure to wash it thoroughly before using it.
If you do not have bacon (or want to avoid the extra calories), you can use olive oil to sauté the greens.
I originally planned to have this as a side dish, but ended up eating it as a main course with some yellow rice. The leftovers stayed well in the refrigerator for a few days, and the dish was just as delicious the second time around
