Today we are preparing Swiss Chard Pancakes for the French Friday with Dorie group.
Swiss chard is a member of the beet family and has large, flat, crinkled green leaves with thick, fleshy stalks and ribs. The taste is rich, complex and robust.
Think of chard almost as two vegetables in one as both the leaves and stems can be used. The stem is often steamed and served separately. The leaves cook more quickly than the stem and can be added to soups, flans, tarts and omelettes and pancakes. Both stem and leaves can be sautéed with cream, butter and cheese.
Swiss chard is popular in Italian and French cooking. Different varieties may have red, pink, white or yellow stalks, ruby chard has red ribs, for example. Alas, around here, although Swiss chard is available year round it is only in season from June to August, and from October to March. Not now. That´s why I chose to substitute spinach for the Swiss chard, other than that, no changes to the original recipe.
Spinach is a leafy green vegetable that is generally cooked, but can also be eaten raw when young enough to be tender. It has a bit of a bittersweet taste and its vibrant green color can be used to dye pasta green, for example.
When shopping for fresh spinach, make sure to look for bright green leaves without yellowing or signs of bruising. Smaller leaves are best for salads, whereas larger ones stand up better to heat. Bear in mind that spinach leaves do shrink quite dramatically, so what looks like an enormous amount won’t be when it’s cooked.
Dorie´s recipe for the very French Swiss Chard Pancakes or farçous, could not be easier. All you need to do is blend the ingredients, namely, whole milk, AP (plain) flour, fresh eggs, an onion, a shallot, some garlic (I used tender spring garlic), Italian parsley leaves, fresh chives and Swiss chard (or in my case tender spinach leaves), in order to make a pancake batter. Than all you have to do is gently fry them in a pan in some good neutral oil (I used sunflower oil ).
These green pancakes were a huge hit at our house, we ate them plain, as an appetizer, absolutely no need to dress them up whatsoever, other then decorate them in a pretty spring like fashion.
To see, how the other Doristas prepared this French specialty, please click here
The color is extraordinary Andrea! Spinach is definitely a better choice, both in taste and color. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Paula - green is my very favorite color of all times and I guess it shows in this post - only the freshest green ingredients will turn out pancakes like this, no compromise there. And you will be rewarded with the most delightful tasting pancakes!
DeleteI made mine with spinach too, and I loved them! Definitely the best way to go, I think. I love how green your pancakes are! So vibrant and springy and pretty!
ReplyDeleteSara, spring is hard to beat when it comes to the most fabulous ingredients - and tender young spinach was the best choice at this time of year for these pancakes as Swiss chard, though available in a few stores, is not really in season yet.
DeleteI love the colour of your pancakes - I used rainbow chard, so the colour was much more subdued. I think these would be good with any green, so using what's in season is smart.
ReplyDeleteTeresa, I just used the ingredients available around here at this time of year and tried not to pan fry the pancakes until they become unrecognizable as such.
DeleteIt is funny how split we all are about these pancakes... some of us you and I included love these and others found them so flat. Interesting... I wonder why?
ReplyDeleteDiane, I must admit that I do not understand your question.
DeleteAndrea…I so agree with you! These were so very delicious! I just love your gorgeous presentation! Such vibrant color!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
Thanks, Kathy, spring just calls out for a lovely green presentation and the recipe for these pancakes was nice and certainly different - the kids happily munched on these pancakes as "finger food" and enjoyed them without any adornment whatsoever - must love them for that.
DeleteThey are so beautiful--very unique. I have yet to cook with swiss chard--I really need to get out of my comfort zone and try some new veggies! Thanks for the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteCindy, I have been cooking with Swiss chard as well as fresh spinach and rapini for a while now and have become quite fond of these greens - I use them most often in my Asian stir-fries and Italian pasta. We have become so used to adding greens whenever possible, that it did not even occur to the kids that the pancakes had such an unusual color. I am proud of them!
DeleteHi Andrea, yours definitely turned out vibrant! I thought I had come across a St. Patrick's day post! Spinach would be a good option for me as well, as over-wintered spinach which is the best I think (sweetest) and has a sturdier texture is in abundance at our local Colorado farms now.
ReplyDeleteHello Marilyn, how nice that you are blogging again - I am looking forward to all your wonderful advice and insight that you always so kindly provide me with! You are right, spinach is so much better in these than Swiss chard, although we love it too but it is just not its proper season right now around here - and that color, well, no tweaking whatsoever there, they just turned out that green and we absolutely adored that exactly that way! I read that young spinach has a ton of chlorophyll, that might be why they are so green or I went overboard on the amount of herbs that I added or both.
DeleteSpring is here - love the daisy photos, Andrea. I agree with mkakudo, perfect Paddy's Day grub, these spinach pancakes. I love spinach (way better than chard) and will definitely be making these. What a wonderful vibrant colour they turned out!
ReplyDeleteHester, spring has indeed arrived, thank goodness! The idea for my "daisy" picture came to me when I took a walk last week and looked at the new grass growing everywhere dotted with all those lovely daisies, which I happen to like quite a bit, it just looked right.
DeleteAndrea - your pictures are so bright and cheerful on this beautiful spring morning. They help to remind me that everything will soon be green and growing. In a few more weeks, we may even have daisies over here :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cher, spring time is just the best, veggies and flowers abound - here is hoping that spring will arrive at your doorstep very soon.
DeleteI loved this Post, as you know. First, like you, I am tryng to eat things as they are "in season" which is easier, I admit, when you aren't cooking for others . I think internationally, especially in Europe, you have always done that, havn't you? But in America we have been willing to pop open a can or box and make and bake as we wish rather than as we should. I used ruby chard and was reluctant to toss the stems but didn't realize they could be used also. I admit to not knowing as much about vegetables as I should but I do have Deborah Madison's first tome on vegetables and I intend to order her new one which is getting fantastic reviews. Andrea, have you looked at Madison's Vegetable Literacy? Your stack of façous made me giggle, as you know, and I loved, loved, loved this happy Post.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary, it took me a while to realize that I cannot always get the ingredients that I would like to have for a certain dish, I now try to go by what is in season and available and usually that is what tastes the best.
DeleteI don't know if these could be more unique or beautiful! I love the thought of making green pancakes. What a fun twist on my favorite pregnancy craving. A healthy twist too! Thank you for sharing, my friend!
ReplyDeleteMonet, so, you are craving pancakes...I never realized that they are so very versatile. We have made them with corn and spinach for the FFwD group and I have made them with carrots and I never thought that I would enjoy eating them but I did and I have prepared these colorful pancakes many times.
DeleteI love the daisies in the pictures with your pancakes. It screams of spring. I'm glad to hear your family enjoyed these.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Betsy, at first I thought it was the spring air that made them eat these pancakes, no, they actually liked them a lot and so did I, they actaullay tasted wonderful, a lot like the spinach and herbs that they contained, nice and worth a repeat.
DeleteOh my. How beautiful. What a cool and incredibly inventive idea. I never thought of veg pancakes. I can really see how these would be FAB as an appetizer. Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteMille grazie, Adri! This creative recipe can be used as a real canvas and changed according to what is seasonal and available at the time you are making these green pancakes - you could use different herbs, and Swiss chard, arugula or even rapini for the pancake batter.
DeleteI probably should have accepted defeat and gone the spinach route. Chard was not so easy to find this time of year, but I did eventually find some bundles at Edeka. Your pancakes look delicious and your photos are gorgeous, as always.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rose - spinach just seemed to be the natural choice for these pancakes - you know how hard it can be to find decent Swiss chard (Mangold) around here at the end of the month of April.
DeleteWow! My first green pancakes I've seen. :) These can be a nice breakfast for St. Patricks's Day, too! Very beautiful pancakes and I'll never forget your green pancakes! I'd love to taste them.
ReplyDeleteOh, Nami, those green pancakes - they were fun to make but today I am seeing "orange" as it is Queen´s Day in the Netherlands and I am watching the ceremonies on T.V. - seriously, these were delicious and best of all, the kids devoured them and have already asked for repeats.
DeleteWhat lovely little pancakes...really puts you in the mood for spring with the pretty daises.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, Karen, spring really seems to have finally arrived, especially when you look at the color of the spinach and fresh herbs that lend their lovely green color to these pancakes.
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