Many Italian recipes for chard only use the leaves, which are called bietole. This can be confusing, as the word literally translates to beets. The stalks are known as coste, or coste di bietola in full. When preparing dishes like Calamari in Inzimino that require only the leaves, you often find yourself with leftover stalks. I have found a tasty and easy recipe to use them: coste di bietole gratinate.
This dish can be served either as an antipasto or as a side to meat or fish. The stalks remain pleasantly crunchy and retain their earthy flavor, which is enhanced by a crispy topping of breadcrumbs, parmigiano, capers, anchovies, thyme, black pepper, and onions.
A note on capers: here in the Netherlands, capers are most easily available preserved in vinegar. Not surprisingly, this gives them a mostly acidic taste. Most Italian recipes require capers preserved in salt instead. These need to be soaked in water before use to remove excess salt, but they offer a much better flavor. Once a jar is opened, they will keep for a very long time in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
For every 250 grams (.55 lb) of chard stalks, you will need:
- 75 grams chopped onion
- 20 grams freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
- 1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 Tbsp salted capers, soaked for 15 minutes and then rinsed and dried with paper towels, and finally minced
- 20 grams dried breadcrumbs
- 2 anchovy fillets, minced
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Trim the chard stalks and slice them into more or less even pieces for a more attractive presentation.
In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs, thyme leaves, minced capers, parmigiano, and freshly ground black pepper until well mixed.
Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Add the chopped onion and season lightly with salt.
Stir over medium heat until the onions have softened, about 10 minutes. Add minced anchovies…
…and stir until they have melted.
Add the chard stalks to the pan…
… and stir for a couple of minutes until they are well coated with the onions and anchovies. This is called insaporire in Italian.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease an oven dish with olive oil. Arrange the chard stalks in a single layer, with the onions on top.
Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture as evenly as possible over the stalks. Drizzle with olive oil.
Bake at 200°C/400°F until the top is nicely golden, about 15 minutes.
Serve at once.
