Sardine and Chard Gratin, NY Times

A great way to use up a lot of greens. If you use a baking pan, you can easily fit 2 or 3 heads of leafy greens!

From Martha Schulman's column.
This is unbelievably easy to make and so delicious I can hardly believe it’s made with sardines from a can. The recipe is a simplified version of a traditional Provençal dish made with fresh sardines and spinach. You can easily throw this dish together on a weeknight.

2 3.5-ounce cans boneless, skinless sardines packed in olive oil
2 1/2 to 3 pounds Swiss chard (about 3 bunches), stemmed and washed in two changes of water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, roughly chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup low-fat milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh or dry bread crumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish. Drain the sardines over a bowl, and separate them into fillets. Set the oil aside.

2. While the chard is still wet from washing, heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat. Working in batches, pile a few handfuls into the pan and stir until the chard begins to wilt. Cover the pan for a minute, then uncover and stir the greens until they have wilted. As each batch collapses, transfer it to a bowl. When you have wilted all of the chard, rinse briefly with cold water, squeeze out excess water and chop medium-fine.

3. Heat the olive oil (not the oil from the sardines) in the skillet over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt, stir in the garlic and thyme, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the chopped, wilted chard and salt and pepper to taste. Stir together for one minute until everything is blended. Add the milk, and stir together for about one minute until you no longer see liquid in the pan. Remove from the heat. Taste, and adjust salt and pepper.

4. Spread half the greens in the bottom of the baking dish. Top with the sardine fillets in one layer. Drizzle a tablespoon of the oil from the cans over the sardines, then top with the remaining greens in an even layer. Sprinkle on the breadcrumbs, and drizzle on another tablespoon of the oil from the cans. Place in the oven, and bake 15 minutes until sizzling. Serve hot or warm.

Yield: Serves four to six.
Advance preparation: You can assemble this up to a day ahead of baking. Keep well covered in the refrigerator.

Spinach Casserole

1/3 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 to 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese (skim)
1/2 to 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar
1 ½ cup of cottage cheese (fat free)
3 eggs
1 small diced onion
2 – 3 diced garlic scapes
¼ of a tea spoon of sea salt (not too much the cheddar is salty already)
Chopped spinach

Preheat oven to 350
Mix it all in one bowl
Place it in a 2 ½” to 3” baking dish, rub it with olive oil or butter so it doesn’t stick.
Bake it uncovered for 1 hour.

I changed the recipe around by adding a few other ingredients, but got the inspiration from “Passionate Vegetarian”.