Although not as popular as Gomen (Ethiopian collard greens), stir fried chards are one of the side dishes that occasionally accompany vegan stews on an injera platter. The type of chard available in Ethiopia has a white stem, but rainbow chard works the same.

Ingredients:

2 bunches rainbow chard, leaves and stems separated and diced ¼ cup red onions, chopped ½ tbsp. garlic, finely minced 3 tbsp. cooking oil 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced 2 small Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large pan over low heat. Add the onions and the diced stems to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the potatoes and continue to cook for 5 more minutes. Increase heat to medium. Start adding about 2 table spoons of water as needed while continuing to stir to avoid sticking. Cook for 10 more minutes. Last, add the chard leaves, garlic, and jalapenos. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until the potato and chard leaves are done to your liking. Season with salt.

Tip:

The chard greens produce their own water when cooking, so it’s a good idea to pat them dry after washing.

When cooking chard for this recipe, it’s a good idea to separate the stems from the leaves because the leaves cook faster than the stem. To make sure it cooks evenly, allow the stems to cook first before adding the leaves.

Before trimming the stems, wash the greens thoroughly and pat them dry. To separate the stem from the leaves, fold the greens along the stem and simply slice the stem out. Then, dice the stems and leaves separately.

This chard dish is delicious with or without potatoes, based on preference. In contrast to most Ethiopian stews that use garlic and ginger as a seasoning, when stir-frying greens we just add garlic by itself. In this stir fry, seeded jalapenos are also added towards the end for added flavor.