It’s actually a relative of the beet. Swiss chard, also known simply as chard, is a beet that is grown for its deep green leaves instead of its root. In this video, I’ll show you how to trim the stems away from kale, a method that works equally well on greens like chard and collards.Unlike spinach, it takes a fair amount of cooking to turn kale leaves tender, and … What is Rainbow Chard? Many gardeners treat it as an annual, as the best harvest is usually the first year. If you desire a fresh addition to a tossed salad, you can snip Swiss chard leaves when they are very small. For steamed greens a good size to cut is 2-4 inch pieces. Tougher greens like collards or kale require longer cook times to beat them into submission. Swiss chard, red chard, golden chard, or rainbow chard.Whatever type of chard you have on hand has bright, stiff stems and deeply grooved, bumpy leaves. Swiss chard is highly nutritious and is a good source of several vitamins. Fold each leaf in half lengthwise; cut out hard vein. Avoid damaging the growing point in the center of the plant at harvest. Smaller leaves can be cut … Chard is referred to as rainbow chard when it has brightly colored stalks like pictured above. Chard preparation is easy. Advertisement. Relatively tender greens like Swiss chard or mustard greens can be cooked rapidly with a quick stir-fry or sauté (try cooking them with just a bit of slivered garlic and oil). Swiss chard is a biennial, which means that it will go to seed the second year and then die. Chard comes in a rainbow of colors! April 01, 2012 Pin. Stir in the chard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Harvest Swiss chard once the broad leaves at the outside of the plant are 1 to 2 feet tall and just fully expanded. More. Prepare the garden bed by removing the weeds and then digging through plenty of compost. How to Cook Swiss Chard, Rainbow, Ruby & Gold How to Prepare Chard for Cooking. Cut chard with garden scissors or serrated bread knife. View All. Many people prefer to cook them separately as the stems take longer to cook than the greens. Swiss Chard is a leafy green vegetable with an elongated stalk. Recipes For Swiss Chard Chard with olive oil and Lemon – adapted from Tender, by Nigel Slater (enough to serve 2 as a side dish) 1 pound white stemmed chard. Chards with colorful stalks, such as the red or yellow chard, are also known as rainbow chard. This green can be eaten any way. Cut the white stalks from the leaves and keep both separate. 4 of 5.