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Lentils with Swiss Chard and Feta

Steamy

This time of year, my 6 swiss chard plants are yielding a full bunch of chard every few days. I've been making lots of spinach recipes and subbing chard, and serving assorted things with a side of chard, but it's exciting when I find an actual chard recipe that I want to try. 

This recipe for Swiss Chard with Lentils and Feta came up in my Pinterest feed, and I'm actually pretty sure that I tried it once before, but I decided to try it again because I couldn't remember whether I liked it. (This is why I keep track of recipes on this blog.) Having now made it and enjoyed it, I think that I did in fact make it before but I executed it better this time, elevating it to a status worthy of saving on the blog.

One change that I unintentionally made is that after realizing my only onion was rotten, I substituted green onions. The original recipe said to saute the onions and cook them with the lentils, so I did that with about 1/3 of the green onions (the whitest parts) and just stirred in the rest at the end. This double-layer of green onion added really great depth and also some much-needed crunch from the fresh ones, so I'm keeping it.

I also prepared the lentils in the Instant Pot, and I'm sure they came out with better texture (and less boiled-over mess) than when I made them in a pot before.

I served it with this crusty bread, and it was perfect together, but it's also good enough to eat without bread.


The Recipe: (adapted from Chowhound)
2 tb olive oil
1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 c dried brown lentils
2 c water
1 bunch swiss chard, chopped
4 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 c feta cheese, cut into small cubes
salt and pepper to taste
  • Preferably in the instant pot: Saute the garlic with the whitest parts of the green onions (about 1/3 of the green onions) in 1 tb olive oil. Add lentils and water and pressure cook for 15 minutes. Natural release.
  • In a large saucepan, saute the chard in 1 tb of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. 
  • Add the cooked lentil mixture. Mix in vinegar, salt, and pepper. This mixture can be set aside and kept warm or refrigerated and reheated later.
  • When ready to serve, toss in the remaining green onions and the feta cheese.

The Verdict:
Overall grade: B+
Overall reason: It gets two pots dirty (or instant pot + pot) and it's not the type of food I often crave, but it is really delicious and healthy.
Time to prepare: 1 hour
Husband quote: "I like the cheese. It's a salty cheese."
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