Chard Lasagna

Hey Sharemembers,
Here's what I remember of the original recipe my mom improvised when I was 10ish. It inspired the one Chris posted on this week's blog (It's the other way "that's been delicious").

From the bottom up, in a rectangular (or not) baking dish).

French Lentils (cooked, or soaked overnight or for at least 6-8 hours). I recommend cooking, but don't overcook them (you want them to have texture in the finished dish).

Thinly sliced potatoes.

Whole raw Chard leaves with ribs removed (you can sauté the ribs up with onions and garlic and add to the lentils). Layered at least 3 leaves thick.

Cheese. Suit to your flavor preferences. Mild and creamy for kids, or strong and pungent if you’re into that). It’s nice for the top of the “lasagna” if the cheese is a melt and brown variety.

Experiment heavily: I remember this recipe from a long time ago, and that it was delicious, but I don’t know all the tricks. ie: what temperature was it baked at in order to get the potatoes and lentils to cook, how many reiterations of these layers did it have? My sense is that as long as there is sufficient moisture in the pan (try using broth for added flavor) you could start with soaked lentils, and raw potatoes and end up with perfection. You’d probably want to bake it covered and at a low temp. 300 for a while, 40 minutes plus? Also try experimenting with seasoning styles; I bet Indian spices, or Black beans and Salsa would make nice variations.

Enjoy!

Grace

Hello, fellow sharemembers!

Hi, my name is Brittney and my husband (Sal) and I are Wealth Underground sharemembers. We live just across the river in St. Johns in a Craftsman-style bungalow with a view of the St. Johns Bridge that we've been fixing up since the day we moved in. You can learn more about us and our house on our website, The Hallway. We first learned about Wealth Underground from last year's St. Johns Farmers' Market and we're big fans. We feel very fortunate to live where we live and to have an opportunity like this one, to support wonderful local agriculture that's committed to the same values we are.

Sal's the chef in the family (literally), so we've been enjoying some amazing creations using our fresh produce since the share started a few weeks ago. And when we start to get a little behind on using things up and another Tuesday is looming, there's always stir fry to save the day.

I pack bento* lunches to take to work, and as you might imagine, all the delicious produce we've been getting in our canvas bag each week has made each lunch a special treat. Thursday's bento was a particularly delicious salad -- it included beets, spring onion, and green and red leaf lettuce from this week's share and a radish from last week's:

• green & red leaf lettuces lining the box
• herb roasted chicken breast
• julienned carrots
• beets roasted with spring onion and a bit of olive oil and sea salt
• radish "flower"
• sunflower seeds
• homemade sweet vinaigrette

Sal always says the secret of good cooking is good ingredients...we certainly have that from Wealth Underground, don't we?

*(Bento, if you don't know, is a Japanese-inspired style of packed meals. Not only is it nutritious, it's great fun, too! And addictive...I highly recommend it.) And if there's anyone out there who does bento, I'd love to hear from you!