Swiss Chard Salad with Lemon, Parmesan & Bread Crumbs
Description
If you love a kale salad, you will love this Swiss chard salad. When dressed with a light, lemony dressing and tossed with garlicky bread crumbs and parmesan, Swiss chard’s leaves become soft and buttery. A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes offers a welcomed kick, too. As soon as the Swiss chard begins arriving in our CSA and popping up in the garden, this becomes our go-to salad — it’s irresistible!
Ingreadient :
- 1 bunch Swiss chard, about 12 ounces
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1½ cups (2.5 ounces) fresh bread crumbs, see notes above
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- sea salt to taste
- crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 lemon
- ¾ cups (1.5 – 2 ounces) grated Parmesan, Grana Padano or Pecorino
Direction :
- Wash and dry the chard and remove the stems from the leaves. (Save stems for another use.) Stack a few of the leaves on top of each other, roll them like a cigar and cut the cigar into thin (1/8-inch) ribbons. Repeat until all the leaves are shredded. Put the leaves into a large salad bowl.
- Warm ¼ cup olive oil in a small, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring frequently, until they are crisp and golden brown (about 5 minutes). Be careful not to burn them! Stir in the garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper flakes, and let them toast for another minute, then remove from the heat.
- Zest the lemon into the bowl of chard. Juice the lemon into a small mixing bowl. Add a few generous pinches of salt. Slowly whisk in ¼ cup of the olive oil.
- Add the Parmesan and about ⅔ of the lemon dressing to the bowl. Toss until nicely coated. Taste and add more dressing if you like. Toss in the toasted bread crumbs and serve immediately.
