Chard Gratin.

The lovely people at Riverford delivered our latest veg box yesterday. Among the contents was a whole head of Chard, so, after thumbing through various cook books this is what I cooked.

1 Head of Chard
280ml Double Cream
3 Tbsps Wholegrain Mustard
Salt and Pepper (both freshly ground.)
Parmesan (a good fist-full, also fresh and finely grated)

Blanch the chard in heavily salted simmering water for a couple of minutes until the stems go limp. How you cut the chard is up to you but I removed the stalks and cut them into bite sized lengths and left the green leaves whole. When you feel the chard is ready drain and place into a shallow baking dish or tray (although of course with suitable sides to hold the cream later.)

Mix the cream with the mustard and season to taste. I like a little bit of fire so I put in 3 generous tablespoons of the mustard but if you don't like the nose tingling effect then just add less. The Chard happily took quite a bit of salt and tasted great for it.

Combine the mustard and cream mixture with the Chard and evenly place in your dish then scatter the Parmesan over the top. Cook at 180c until the gratin looks golden and bubbling.

I had mine with sausages although it could accompany all manner of things. The creamy mustard mixture if you have any left would probably be great with pasta, not tried it but just an idea.