RECIPE: You don’t have to be vegan to love this dairy-free dish
When I have a family-pleasing recipe that works with my schedule, I hang on to it like the safety bar on the 5 p.m. roller coaster. But lately I’ve been rethinking the go-to ingredients that go into these recipes.
Grocery stores now carry an abundance of plant-based alternatives, many of which taste just as good as the original, all of which have significantly less cholesterol. I recently put some of my favorite dairy-free products to the test and made a no-cream cream sauce for Swiss chard.
Swiss chard is naturally low in calories and carbohydrates, and high in iron and vitamins A and C. With a few tweaks, Swiss chard works in most spinach recipes. Chard has a thick center stem, so separate the stems from the leaves and saute the stems first, then wilt the green leaves during the last minutes of cooking. If the chard is bitter, neutralize the bite with a splash of lemon juice or mild vinegar. You won’t taste the acid, just the deep savory notes that emerge.
While it’s tempting to pour some heavy cream over the chard and call it a day, a single tablespoon of cream has the same amount of fat (6 grams) as an entire cup of oat milk. Oat milk has no cholesterol, and an eighth of the calories found in cream. I thickened the oat milk into a creamy consistency using a vegan butter-based roux. These simple swaps slashed fat and calories, proving that even a favorite recipe can be improved.
- 1 pound Swiss chard
- 2 1/2 tablespoons vegan butter substitute, such as Earth Balance, divided
- Half of a small yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup plain unsweetened nondairy milk, such as oat milk
- Cut the center red stems away from the Swiss chard leaves. Dice the stems crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Stack the chard leaves and slice them crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick ribbons. Rinse the ribbons and stems separately under cold running water. Do not dry. Set both aside.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter substitute in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chard stems, onion, salt and pepper. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Add the chard leaves and 2 tablespoons water. Cover with a lid and steam the chard leaves for 1 minute. Remove the lid and stir, cooking until the water evaporates, about 1 minute more. Turn off the heat and sprinkle the chard mixture with lemon juice.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter substitute. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking frequently for 2 minutes, until foamy. The roux will not darken. Whisk in the nutmeg. Add the nondairy milk and continue to whisk constantly until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Pour the sauce over the chard mixture and serve immediately. Serves 4-6.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving, based on 4: 66 calories (percent of calories from fat, 27), 3 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 2 grams total fat (trace saturated fat), no cholesterol, 530 milligrams sodium.Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
