Recipes for Swiss Chard Braised with Olives and Feta (Σέσκουλο με Ελιές και Φέτα) & Pancakes with Leftover Greens, Olives and Feta

Greens season is here. Gardens and farmers’ markets in Anchorage are filled with every type of cool weather green. Swiss chard, spinach, and kale are in their prime.


It’s also the season during which many Alaskans are doing hard duty out on the salmon grounds, making sure freezers are filled with fish for the upcoming winter.


The best reason to eat greens and salmon is they just plain taste good. Luckily, both are good for your health: greens because they’re high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber and salmon because it’s loaded with omega-3 fatty acids


Freshly caught salmon has so much flavor it doesn’t need anything more than salt, pepper, and a little time on the grill or cast-iron pan.  Swiss Chard Braised with Olives and Feta is a good accompaniment. The greens’ earthiness, when paired with salty olives and feta, balances fresh salmon’s richness.

Swiss Chard Braised with Olives and Feta (Σέσκουλο με Ελιές και Φέτα)
Serves 4
Any greens, wild or domesticated or, better yet, a mixture of greens, can be substituted for Swiss chard.  This is delicious made with plain Kalamata olives, but I prefer using Roasted Kalamata Olives. Dry-cured or salt-cured olives (such as those from Thassos) may be substituted, but be sure to taste them and use less than 1/2 cup if they’re strong flavored. Most Greeks squeeze a lemon wedge over braised greens; I like them better plain. Serve lemon wedges on the side so each eater can choose their own amount of lemon. Swiss Chard Braised with Olives and Feta goes well with grilled or pan-fried salmon and other simply cooked seafood.


2 large or 3 medium bunches Swiss chard (about 10-12 cups cleaned, chopped leaves)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, roughly chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt

1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Lemon wedges


Strip Swiss chard leaves from stems; reserve stems for another use.  Wash and roughly chop the leaves (don’t dry leaves; the clinging water helps cook them).

In a Dutch oven or deep sauté pan, sauté garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 30 seconds, being very careful not to burn the garlic. Stir in Swiss chard, olives, a liberal seasoning of black pepper, and a light seasoning of salt (olives and feta also add salt). Cover, turn heat down to low, and cook until chard is tender, but not falling apart. (The dish may be made ahead to this point and reheated just before serving.)

Remove chard and olives from pan with slotted spoon. Put in serving bowl along with the feta. Toss well.  Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Bonus Recipe

Pancakes with Leftover Greens, Olives and Feta
Makes 4-6 pancakes
Too lazy to make crepes, I mixed leftover Swiss Chard Braised with Olives and Feta into a simple batter and cooked it into pancakes. These cakes contain the same flavors as crepes, but can be mixed and cooked in less than 1/2 hour with a lot less hassle.  I served the savory pancakes with soft goat cheese, basil shreds, and thinly sliced prosciutto; they made a lovely lunch.


3/4 - 1 cup leftover greens, olives, and feta

3/4 – 1 cup milk

3/4 cup flour

1 egg

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Oil for griddle


Put leftover greens in a strainer set over a bowl, press down to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Measure the liquid and add enough milk to make one cup.  Whisk egg and half the milk mixture into flour. Whisk in remaining milk mixture. Whisk in greens and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat small amount of oil in a griddle or cast iron frying pan over medium heat.  When pan is hot, ladle in 1/2 cup batter, spreading it out to form a 7” circle. Cook it on one side until it’s dry around the edges and the underside is nicely browned when lifted. Flip and cook on the second side.  Repeat until all the batter is used.

Serve plain, with cheese, or with thinly sliced prosciutto or salami.

Recipes: Puffy Pancakes (Dutch Babies) and Apple Pancakes

Janeen was nine when she came to live with us in Greece.

I smile when I think of her at that age. It was Janeen’s first time out of Alaska, and our first time living with a child. For all of us, the world was new and filled with possibilities.

For special breakfasts, Janeen loved baked pancakes (Dutch babies). We called them “puffy pancakes” because, like the Yorkshire pudding they resemble, the pancakes puff up beautifully in the oven.

When Janeen returned to Alaska for school, she wanted to make sure she knew how to make “puffy pancakes.” The proportions were easy, I explained; just follow the Rule of 3: 3 eggs, 3 quarter cups of flour, 3 quarter cups of milk, 3 Tbsp. sugar. I wrote down the recipe, in case she forgot.

Because I repeated the Rule of 3 so many times, I’ve never forgotten the recipe for puffy pancakes. I think of Janeen every time I make them.

Puffy pancakes may be eaten plain, with berries and cream, or with a light sprinkling of powdered sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice (my favorite). I also bake them with an apple, cinnamon, and sugar topping.

As with apple pies, the pancake topping tastes best when more than one type of apple is used to make it. Most recently, I made this with 2 Granny Smith apples and 1 Empire apple, all from my Full Circle Farm CSA box. Over the years, I've made this with every type of apple available, and it tastes wonderful no matter what kind is used.

The amount of cinnamon added to the apple topping depends on the kind of cinnamon you are using and how long it has been sitting in your cupboard. If I use regular grocery store cinnamon of uncertain age and often of lower grade than that available from specialty stores, I use 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. If I use delicate “true” cinnamon from Ceylon, I add 3 teaspoons, and if I use spicy Vietnamese “cassia” cinnamon, I add 1 teaspoon.

If you are unsure about the strength of your cinnamon, stir in 1 teaspoon and taste the apples. Add more cinnamon, as needed. Cinnamon is an essential flavor in Apple Pancakes, and is balanced by the plain batter.

No matter which version I make, puffy pancakes are a showy, but easy, treat.

Puffy Pancakes (Dutch Babies)
Serves 2 – 3
I prefer making this in a 10-inch seasoned, cast-iron skillet, but I’ve also successfully made it in a 10-inch Pyrex pie pan and a 9” aluminum cake pan. It can be made in any 10-inch, oven-proof, round pan.

3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
Pinch of salt
3 Tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, sugar, and salt until thoroughly blended and the batter is smooth.

Place a 10” oven-proof pan in the preheated oven until it is heated through. Add the butter, and swirl it around the pan until the butter melts. Pour the batter into the hot buttered pan, return it to the oven, and bake for 20 – 25 minutes; do not open the door during the first 20 minutes while the pancake is baking. The pancake is done when the center is fully cooked, and the sides of the pancake have puffed up, forming a partial bowl.

Apple Pancakes
Serves 3 - 4
As with the Puffy Pancakes, I prefer making this in a 10-inch seasoned, cast-iron skillet, but I’ve also successfully made it in a 10-inch Pyrex pie pan and a 9” aluminum cake pan. It can be made in any 10-inch, oven-proof, round pan.

3 Tbsp. butter
3 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 – 3 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Melt the butter in a 10-inch oven-proof pan. Add the apples, and turn them until all sides are coated with butter. Cook the apples over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar and cinnamon, and cook for 5 minutes, or until the apples start to soften.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, and salt until thoroughly blended and the batter is smooth.

Evenly distribute the apples over the bottom of the pan. Pour the batter over the apples, and immediately put the hot pan into the preheated oven. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes; do not open the door during the first 20 minutes while the pancake is baking. The pancake is done when the center is fully cooked, and the sides are puffed up.

Remove the pancake from the oven and invert it onto a serving platter so the apples are on top of the pancake. If any apples stick to the bottom of the pan, return them to where they belong on the pancake. (The pancake flattens out when you turn it over.)
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This is my entry for Fresh Produce of the Month: Apples sponsored by An Italian in the US, and my entry for Think Spice: Cinnamon sponsored by Sunita’s World.