La chard (Beta vulgaris cicla), is a vegetable that is part of the garden beets. It belongs to the Chenepodiacee family, the same as the beetroot, and has properties antianemiche, refreshing and diuretic. Let's find out better.
> Calories and nutritional values
> How to use it
> A recipe with Swiss chard
Description of the chard
The most common types of chard are:
- The chard (also called herb), of which the broad leaves are mainly used, in clump, with marked veins;
- Chard from ribs (also called costa), with thicker leaves, fleshy stems and variable color according to the variety. One of the best known is the Lucullus variety, with white ribs, but there are also the violet-ribbed and silver-ribbed varieties.
Chard is harvested all year round, except in the coldest months; the best harvest is in early winter and spring.
Calories and nutritional values
100 g of chard contains 19 kcal.
Beets also contain good amounts of the following components:
- Waterfall;
- Mineral salts, in particular potassium and iron, whose assimilation in the body is facilitated by the presence of Vitamin C;
- Carotenoids, plant substances including lutein and beta-carotene (an element transformed by the body into vitamin A), which perform an actionantioxidant;
- Chlorophyll, a vegetable pigment that gives the leaves a beautiful bright green color, but which, above all, is transformed during digestion into substances with an important protective function against tumor diseases;
- Fiber, especially in the fleshy stems;
- Saponins, vegetable substances that facilitate the elimination of fats;
- Folic acid, which is important for the development of all cells, for the normal development of the fetus and for good growth in childhood.
- Indoles, nitrogen-containing substances whose usual intake seems to protect against breast and uterus tumors.
Properties of chard
Chard is a very digestible vegetable. Rich in mineral salts and vitamins useful for the growth of the organism, it has properties:
You can learn more about all the causes and natural remedies for anemia
How to use chard
With the beets you can prepare a decoction indicated in inflammation of the urinary system, in constipation and also in hemorrhoids: cook 50 g of leaves in 1 liter of water for about 20 minutes, then filter. Drink 2 cups a day of decoction until the symptoms disappear.
The leaves cooked in water, squeezed and chopped, can be used to make soothing and anti-inflammatory poultices to be applied on sunburn, boils and abscesses.
Chard is used in cooking, as a side dish or as an ingredient in many dishes, in the preparation of which it is important to avoid losing its precious nutrients, using appropriate cooking methods, such as steaming or boiling in a pot, having the 'care to use the least amount of water possible.
Curiosity
Beets must be bought and eaten very fresh because they are easily perishable. It is easy to tell when they are not fresh, because the stem loses its characteristic white color and the leaves appear withered.
A recipe with chard
Savory pie with chard and spinach.
Ingredients for the dough: 300 grams of kamut flour, 100 grams of olive oil, a pinch of salt, a pinch of baking soda, three tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.
Ingredients for the dough: 400 grams of steamed beets, 400 grams of spinach steamed, an onion, a tablespoon of olive oil, salt, parmesan.
Procedure: prepare a dough with the listed ingredients following a method similar to that of shortcrust pastry. Once you have a ball of dough, put it in the fridge to rest. Meanwhile prepare the filling. After frying an onion in a little oil, add the chard and spinach. Season with salt.
Roll out the dough and cover the sheet of a pan. Pour the filling. Sprinkle with Parmesan and breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for about half an hour.
READ MORE
Chard among the ingredients of the minestrone diet: the pros and cons
Other articles on chard:
> Swiss chard among the edible wild plants of January: discover the others
> 3 recipes with chard
> 3 recipes with chard
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