Since arriving in Mexico I’ve had so many new ingredients to try out. Some are ones I never cooked with but remember from my childhood, and others are ones I have never tasted before. Swiss chard is one such ingredient. I had heard about it on many food blogs but never came across it when I lived in Prague. Actually, when I purchased my first bunch here a couple of weeks ago I had no idea what it was until I got home and Googled the name in Spanish. Of course I was super excited to finally have Swiss chard available.
Swiss chard is a long leaf green vegetable that can also come in a colourful variety called rainbow chard. It is believed to be among the healthiest vegetables available because it is high in dietary fibre, protein, high in minerals and in vitamins a, k and c. Chard may be eaten raw, like in salads, or cooked like other green leaf vegetables. In it’s raw state the taste is a tad tart but it fades with cooking and becomes very mild. This vegetable is great simply sautéed or along with any other ingredients.
The first few times I bought chard I just sautéed it with a little bit of olive oil, fine sea salt and a pinch of black pepper. It’s delicious just like this and makes a super healthy side-dish. This last time I wanted to incorporate the chard with some leftover boiled chicken that needed using up. Below is the very simple recipe.
- 2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded*
- 1 bunch or 4-5 large leaves of chard, thoroughly rinsed and cleaned
- 1 extra small white onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- large pinch of fine sea salt
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- corn tortillas
- crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese
- salsa of choice
- avocado slices
- After cleaning the chard trim off the white stalk bottoms and discard them. Next slice the leaves into thin strips and set aside. Heat the oil and once warm sauté the onion slices until soft, add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes or until soft. Next add the shredded chicken, sliced chard and cumin, pepper and salt. Allow the chard to wilt and give the ingredients a good stir. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve on top of warm corn tortillas and toppings of choice.
The prep and cook times given here are if you are also using leftover boiled chicken. If having to cook the chicken then the prep and cooking time will be longer.
!Variations: If you would like to make this a vegan or vegetarian meal, replace the chicken with potatoes or mushrooms or even beans.
These tacos tasted fantastic! They may not be typical or traditional tacos but they sure do pack a lot of flavour and nutrition. You can also turn the recipe into a vegetarian/vegan meal so make sure to read through the notes. We ate our tacos just like this, no salsa and no cheese needed — thought I think a touch of salty queso fresco or feta would be a great addition.
Enjoy and have a wonderful Sunday!
Healthy and delicious!
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks Rosa!
They are so light yet so delicious and full of flavours, Nancy.
Yes, they are.:) Thanks Angie
I love Swiss chard! And we usually grow it in our garden. It substitutes nicely for spinach in Indian dishes, and there are loads of Italian dishes that use it (it’s wonderful as a ravioli filling). Never had it in a taco, though. But I will. ;-) Good stuff – thanks.
I’d love to be able to grow it too. Thanks for all the info John!
What a wonderful dish!!! And that plate is to die for :)
Lovely looking tacos!
How absolutely delicious!!
I really need some healthy light dishes, it is summer here and too hot for anything heavy.
Thanks for sharing :)
Nancy, I love this swiss chard tacos. For a long time I’ve been thinking of ways to include swiss chard or rainbow chard in cooking which my kids are willing eat eat. Tacos are really really great, and with additional cheese (never tried queso fresco before, but will check…), kids will enjoy this meal. It’s fabulous indeed. Trying to eat light and healthy these days, and I just landed on the right post today! :D Thanks for your wonderful recipe!
I have a feeling that my earlier comment didn’t go through… my computer froze and now I see empty box. Anyway, I was telling how excited I am with this recipe. I wanted to incorporate swiss chard or rainbow chard in my cooking, but with lack of creativity (trying to put in Japanese recipes), I haven’t been successful with the kids. This is going to be a winner. With additional cheese, they will really enjoy this healthy delicious tacos. Will try this very soon!
This looks so good, Nancy! Swiss Chard is also super easy to grow, and if you keep it cut back, it will produce pretty much all summer long. A staple for us and now I have a new recipe to try with it!
I love Swiss chard; I bet it’s fabulous with the chicken in these tacos! :)
I just made some stock and have boiled chicken in the fridge, so this is perfect. Thanks for the idea!
I want to Mexico! That food is so good :)
I can’t wait to see what else you do with Swiss chard now that you have discovered it! Along with Bok Chow, it’s our favorite leafy green vegetable. I thought I had put it in everything until now. :) Love the idea of putting it tacos! I used spinach in tacos but never Swiss chard. What a great idea and what beautiful tacos. Homemade tortillas – obviously. ;)
Those look so healthy! Amazing my friend!
Great recipe! I’ve been on such a swiss chard kick lately, but I’ve never tried them in tacos. This needs to change soon.
What a great way to make you chicken tacos even healthier. I bet any green would work great. I love this idea. :)
These sound wonderful. I haven’t really ever cooked with swiss chard but I think spinach would be lovely in them instead.
Hi Corina! Swiss chard and spinach are interchangeable. The taste is slightly different but will work just fine. Enjoy:)