Healthy Recipe Chard Salad With Paprika Croutons & Chickpeas

Healthy Recipe, Chard Salad with Paprika Croutons and Chickpeas

Swiss chard is a nutrient-packed green that’s actually a member of the beet family. Its ruffly leaves are sturdier than spinach but more tender and sweeter than kale, and its stems are juicy and crunchy like celery. Though typically sautéed, chard is also delicious raw, as this proven by hearty salad recipe lightly adapted from Joe Yonan’s new tome, “Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking: Vegan Recipes, Tips, and Techniques.” (Ten Speed Press, $50). Serves 6 – Susan Puckett

Ingredients

• 2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added chickpeas
• 1 (7-ounce) piece crusty bread, cut into ½-inch cubes (3 or 4 cups)
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 ¼ teaspoons smoked paprika
• 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• small garlic clove, peeled but whole
• bunch (about 12 ounces) Swiss or rainbow chard, washed and dried
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Drain the chickpeas, reserving the liquid (aquafaba) if desired, for other uses. Rinse, drain, and spin the chickpeas in a salad spinner, or shake off the water vigorously in a colander.
2. Lay a clean kitchen towel on a large sheet pan, pour the chickpeas on the towel and gently roll them around the towel to dry completely.
3. Scatter the dried chickpeas and bread pieces on the sheet pan and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the salt and pepper. Spread into an even layer and bake, shaking the pan halfway through, until golden and crisp, 22 to 25 minutes.
4. Sprinkle with the paprika and toss to coat thoroughly. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired.
5. Meanwhile, stir together the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the vinegar in a large salad bowl. Finely grate in the garlic clove with a micro plane and season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Stack a few leaves of the chard, then roll them up into a cylinder from the long side like a cigar. Then thinly slice in ribbons right through the stems and ribs (chiffonade). Repeat with the remaining leaves.
7. Place the chard ribbons and sliced stems in the bowl with the dressing, along with the sesame seeds and baked chickpeas and croutons. Toss to coat and serve immediately.

Susan Puckett is an Atlanta-based food writer and cookbook author.