Spinach,  Leaf Beet & Swiss Chard

General  - Preparing Spinach,  Leaf Beet and Swiss Chard

All - Do not wash until you are ready to use.

General - Preparing Spinach and  Leaf Beet

Remove the stalks and wash well in cold water. If you are going to boil or steam the leaves do not dry them (see cooking methods below). Young small leaves can be cooked whole - shred or roughly chop larger leaves.

General - Preparing Swiss Chard

If the chards have thick stems, they are best  treated as as two separate vegetables  - the stems and the leaves - because the stems take longer to cook than the leaves. Snap or cut off the stems, wash well then cut into chunks, slices or dice/chop. The leaves should be prepared as spinach (above).

Optional Preparations/Cuts  (see Main Vegetable Preparation Page for  explanations and photos)

Suitable methods and timing for cooking spinach, Swiss Chard & Leaf Beet

Bake/Roast

Boil

Leaves  =   3-4 minutes. They should be placed in a dry pan with only the water which is clinging to the leaves from having been washed. Cover with a lid and set over a medium/high heat. It will be necessary to shake the pan vigorously or turn the leaves every 20-30 seconds during cooking.

Chard Stems  = 4 - 8 minutes

Fry/Sauté

Leaves  =   3-4 minutes. Stir-fry until just wilted

Chard Stems  = 4 - 8 minutes  Thinly slice or chop

Microwave

Steam

Leaves  =   5 - 8 minutes

Chard Stems  = 10 - 15 minutes  Thinly slice.

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