curried zucchini and swiss chard

The last time I had this dish, we were packing up our apartment. We were moving. Amidst all of the chaos, I was starving of course. In the fridge we only had 1 zucchini, a sad looking bag of spinach, and a bottle of Gatorade or something. Mmm, just what I had in mind…

I didn’t have time to be picky so I quickly shut the fridge. I waited. I opened it again. Nothing. Still the same stuff inside. As if opening and closing the fridge was going to magically produce some new kind of food. Why do we all do that?

So I ended up throwing everything into a pan (no, not the Gatorade) and sauteing it with a little curry powder. Don’t even ask me where I found curry powder or more importantly, how old it was. I threw in a couple of raisins too. And let me tell you, this little creation was delicious. Who knew?

As with most off-the-cuff creations, I never write down the ingredients and then I completely forget the dish altogether. Until something like this shows up…

…a lifetime supply of zucchini, courtesy of my CSA farm share.

Something triggered my recipe index and I remembered that curried zucchini/spinach dish from 4 years ago.

This time around I swapped out the spinach for swiss chard (also courtesy of my CSA) and left out the raisins (those are under strict surveillance by my 3 year old).

This is a wonderful side dish to accompany grilled meat or flaky white fish. If you prefer, serve it as the main event with a side of rice.

What is your favorite off-the-cuff creation?

curried zucchini and swiss chard

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• Author: The Clever Carrot
• Yield: 2 hungry people 1x

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Ingredients

• 1 bunch of swiss chard, or 1 (16 oz) bag of spinach
• 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 scallions, white and light green part
• 1/4 tsp. curry powder
• 2 tbsp. butter
• splash of olive oil
• a bunch of lemons
• jasmine rice (optional)

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Instructions

1. Wash and trim your swiss chard. Remove the stems and the large center vein (you can do this by folding the leaf in half and running your knife vertically down the side). Chop into pieces.
2. Thinly slice your zucchini. A mandoline is best for this.
3. Thinly slice your scallions.
4. In a large, wide saute pan heat 1 tbsp. of butter with a splash of olive oil. Medium heat is good.
5. Add your scallions and saute for 1 minute. Add a large handful of swiss chard and saute in batches. As is starts to wilt, you can add more. Your swiss chard is done when it tastes tender, not tough. This should take about about 5-6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and give it a taste.
6. Using tongs, remove swiss chard from the pan squeezing out any excess liquid. Set aside on a platter and keep warm.
7. In the same pan, heat 1 tbsp. of butter with a splash of olive oil. Add the curry powder and warm it through to bring out its flavor, about 1 minute.
8. Add the zucchini and saute for about 3-5 minutes (the thinner they are, the faster they’ll cook). Season with salt and pepper.
9. Sprinkle the zucchini over your swiss chard and squeeze some lemon over the top.
10. Serve with extra lemon wedges and jasmine rice if desired.

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Notes

* Only the zucchini are sauteed in the curry powder, not the swiss chard. This keeps the curry flavor mild.
* Swiss chard wilts down a lot, so double this recipe to serve more people. Pictures make everything seem bigger!