Swiss Chard with Onions and Roasted Chickpeas

A quick trip to Cali left me confronted with two of my great loves – sunshine and mexican food!  So I tried to gobble them both up with abandon while I was there.

But now I am back to snow-flecked sidewalks and could use a break from the frijoles and salsa.

So let’s gently break the cycle with a difference kind of legume – a roasted chickpea.

I have been making roasted chickpeas for years; a satisfying, crunchy, salty snack and that makes you forget chips as the ruler of the salty, crunchy world.  Ideal t.v. and car ride food.  They can be seasoned in more ways than they can be named.  Oregano on ceci, curry on the Indian pea, cumin on a garbanzo bean… you get the drift.

But in all my years snacking on these guys, I have never quite seen them command attention as when matched with wilted chard and onions.

They bring some seriously needed texture and bite to a simple winter side.

I first spied this idea in a Bon Appétit, but thought the amount of oil in that recipe to be cloying, and quite frankly not too excited, so I quickly forgot all about it. But then when I had a beautiful bunch of chard from the greenmarket, the idea came back to me.  However instead of the globs of oil and adding stock the the chard, I figured I would make Alice Waters‘ oh so simple wilted chard with onion (from The Art of Simple Food) and top it with my standby roasted chickpeas.

The combo was superb – much richer together than the sum of its parts.  In fact, it was so satisfying that I skipped the pizza that someone else had brought home.

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Swiss Chard with Onions and Roasted Chickpeas

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.  In a shallow baking sheet, combine chickpeas, oil and seasonings.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the beans are toasty, shaking occasionally during the cooking time.  Set aside.

To trim the chard, pull the leaves from the ribs and trim the ends from the ribs.  Cut the stems into thin slices and the leaves into wide ribbons.

When the beans have about 5 minutes left, over medium heat, at the oil (for the chard) to a large heavy-bottomed pan or skillet. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions start to soften, but not change color.  Add the ribs of the chard and cook for another 3 minutes.  Add the chard leaves and season with salt.  The water on the leaves (from washing) will help wilt the greens.  Add a bit more water to the pan if things begin to stick or brown.  When the leaves have softened (a few more minutes), remove from heat.

To serve, top the chard with the roasted chickpeas.

Serves 4 as a side (decidedly less as a meal).

* You can use any combination of seasoning you prefer.