I find particular satisfaction in making something from not-so-much.  I save my Parmesan rinds to add depth of flavor to lentil soups.  I save my vegetable trimmings make homemade broth.  And when I made those risotto-filled chard rolls, I saved the chard stems to make this dish.

I often cook chard stems right along with their leaves, chopping them into confetti and sauteing them with onions and garlic before adding the glistening green leaves to my pan.  And I sometimes chop the stems up for my stock-trimmings bag in the freezer if I only have a few of them.  But chard stems are a delicious vegetable on their own, with a sweeter flavor than the leaves and a bit of crunch or chew, depending on how long you cook them.

This recipe is a longstanding family favorite.  It comes from Jack Bishop’s A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, which I once checked out of the library.  (I love getting cookbooks from the library.)  I sauce things up by increasing the tomato and often serving a poached egg on top, but you can do what you like.  I also usually serve the sauteed chard leaves alongside if I didn’t already use them up to make chard rolls.

This is one of those nice dishes where the end product seems to be more than the sum of its parts. We are about equally likely to make it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Which will you do?

Baked Chard Stems with Tomato, Garlic, and Parmesan: Slice chard stems into 3-4″ lengths and simmer in broth or lightly salted water until tender, about 7 minutes.  (I did this when I was blanching my chard leaves in broth the other day.)  Meanwhile, make a tomato sauce by sauteeing a few thinly-sliced cloves of garlic in olive oil until golden, then stirring in a 28-oz. can/tetrapak/jar of chopped tomatoes.  If you want to speed things along you can drain the tomatoes and save the liquid for a soup or put it in your freezer to make stock later.  Cook the tomatoes down into a thick sauce, then remove from heat and stir in a handful of minced parsley.  In a lightly oiled baking dish, layer half of the chard stems, half of the tomato sauce, then a handful of freshly-grated Parmesan.  Repeat.  Bake uncovered at 400 until the cheese is lightly browned, about 25 minutes.  Serve alone or topped with a poached egg and/or sauteed chard greens.