A decadent take on a greens-filled side dish, this Swiss chard gratin features ham and a rich cheesy sauce that will impress your family and friends.
Swiss chard stalks magically come in a variety of colors. Rainbow chard, for example, has a mixture of white, red, and yellow stalks. Ruby chard features red stalks, while most traditional Swiss chard is white-stemmed.
Swiss chard is one of the healthiest greens around. It's high in vitamins A, K, and C and is also high in protein, fiber, and magnesium.
 |
| Swiss chard in the garden |
Swiss chard really shrinks down a lot when cooked, so there's a lot in this Swiss chard gratin recipe.
For the record, I left the chard leaves whole (the recipe didn't state anything about cutting them down) to keep some of their structure, but you can easily roughly chop them to make it a bit easier to serve and eat.
 |
| The Swiss chard ragout |
The sauce is thick and rich, but not too cheesy. It cloaks the Swiss chard ragout beautifully.
Even after cooking with the vegetables and ham (all of which are notorious for releasing water) the sauce was still thick and had lots of flavor from the onion pique and spices.
I am sold on this Swiss chard gratin. I would definitely make it again and I hope you'll give it a shot next time you want to incorporate more greens into your diet!
Even though this dish contains a slightly rich sauce, it's really not that heavy. You can definitely use low-fat milk as well for the mornay.
It uses the stems AND leaves from the chard (all the vitamins) with some extra protein from the ham and cheese. It's pretty much a complete meal, but also perfect as a side dish 🙂
Other recipes you may like
- Tomato Bulgur Pilaf
- Escalivada Catalana (Catalan Roasted Vegetables)
- Fasolakia (Greek Stewed Green Beans)
- Stir-fried Greens with Dried Shrimp
- Braised Collard Greens
- Himmel und Erde (German Heaven and Earth Potatoes)
- Gajar Matar (Indian Carrots and Peas)
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Swiss Chard Gratin
Ingredients
Mornay Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- ¼ onion peeled
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup grated Gruyere cheese
- Ground nutmeg
- Kosher salt
- Ground white pepper
Swiss Chard Ragout:
- 20 to 25 leaves Swiss chard
- ¾ cup diced (¼-inch) onion
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup chicken stock or broth
- 1 cup diced (⅛-inch) ham
- Ground nutmeg
- Kosher salt
- Ground white pepper
To Finish:
- ¼ cup grated Gruyere cheese
Instructions
- To make the mornay: In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and stir, cooking until the mixture is lightly golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the milk, whisking to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to simmer. To make an oignon pique, use the cloves to pierce the onion and the bay leaf, tacking them together. Add the oignon pique to the sauce and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (the onion pique will inevitably fall apart, but it will be strained out later). Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the cheese. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.
- To make the ragout: Clean the chard, separating the leaves from the stems. Dice the stems into ¼-inch pieces. In a medium saute pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Sweat the chard stems and onion until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a simmer, cover with a parchment paper lid, and sweat until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the parchment paper, add the chard leaves, and wilt over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add the ham, remove the pan from the heat, and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.
- To finish: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pour 1 ½ cups of the mornay sauce into a shallow 1-quart gratin dish (I used a 9-inch pie dish). Spoon the Swiss chard ragout into the dish and drizzle the remaining mornay sauce over the top. Top the gratin with the cheese and place in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, and then broil until lightly browned, 30 to 45 seconds (or more depending on your broiler).
Notes
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
thefoxkitchenette says
Made this today and my families loved it! Such a rich and delicious way to get our dark leafy greens in. The texture was perfect and the flavors powerful.