On the Menu
Chard salad recipe with poached pears, pine nuts and Reggiano
This chard salad recipe is a perfect fit for a formal fall dinner. We tasted something similar in Niagara wine country this September at a restaurant that seemed to have some great gourmet ideas but ultimately overdid each recipe just a little, with flourishes that didn't quite fit. We have toned down their original idea to create a chard salad recipe that is unusual without being overwhelming. The creamy dressing, our own invention, is low-fat and very tasty - it has a real zip to it!
Concord grapes are a popular grape variety in Ontario, they are a black grape that is both sweet and tart. For this recipe you'll really want to look for seedless grapes. While Concord or another tart variety is ideal, any small, seedless grape should do well, as the dressing adds tartness if the grapes lack it.
If you are pressed for time you can bypass the poached pears step in this chard salad recipe and just use very ripe fresh pairs sliced and sprinkled with lemon juice, or a good quality canned pear.
Ingredients
The poached pears
2 ripe pears (Bartlett or Flemish Beauty work well)
2 cups white wine
1/2 cup Cassis liqueur (black current liqueur)
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar
The braised chard
1 bunch Swiss chard or rhubarb chard
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp water
The dressing
1/2 cup yogurt
2 Tbsp finely minced onion or shallot
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey
Remaining ingredients
40 seedless Concord grapes
2 Tbsp pine nuts
1/4 cup shaved Parmeggiano Reggiano (parmesan cheese)
Directions
Begin by poaching the pears, which you can start earlier in the day or even the night before:
1. Peel the pears, cut in half lengthwise, and remove the cores.
2. Add the wine, Cassis, white vinegar and sugar to a small sauce pan, and heat until steaming and the sugar has dissolved.
3. Gently lower the pears into the sauce, add water until they are covered, and heat slowly back to a simmer.
4. Cover and let simmer for an hour. Remove from heat and let cool.
Next braise the chard:
1. Wash the chard and spin it dry if desired, though some moisture remaining on the leaves will not hurt.
2. Cut away any thick stalk sections. Chop the leaves into 1 inch squares.
3. In a large sauce pan or pot, add the olive oil and water and heat on medium high until the water starts to steam. Toss in the chard. Stir to coat in oil.
3. Continue braising the chard until it is thoroughly wilted but before the bright green tends towards grey.
Now prepare the creamy salad dressing:
1. Finely mince the onion or shallot. Place in a small bowl.
2. Add the remaining dressing ingredients and whisk together until well blended. Sample, and add lemon juice or salt to taste as required.
Toast the pine nuts to draw out their flavor:
1. Place pine nuts in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Stir continuously. Don't walk away from them - if you leave them for just a minute you may well burn them, and pine nuts are too precious to burn!
2. When pine nuts are golden brown and giving off a stronger scent, remove the skillet from the heat and remove the pine nuts from the skillet (otherwise they will keep cooking and may burn).
Finally, assemble the salad:
1. Carefully remove the pear halves from the poaching broth (which, by the way, makes a delicious non-alcoholic cordial) and allow to drain.
2. Arrange the chard in heaps on four salad plates. Flatten each heap slightly to make room for the pear.
3. Place about ten grapes on each pile of chard.
4. Drizzle some of the dressing over the chard and grapes.
5. Place each pear half on top of a pile of chard and grapes.
6. Drizzle remaining dressing over the pears.
7. Garnish with the shavings of parmesan cheese and the pine nuts. Set any extra pine nuts and cheese in small ramequins for people to sprinkle over their salad as needed.
This chard salad recipe goes nicely with a dry white wine such as a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. We ate ours with an excellent Tawse Estate Winery barrel aged Chardonnay.
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