Versatile Veggie

But a muddled pedigree is just part of the confusion. According to Schneider, chard comes from the Latin and French words for thistle, which is a misnomer. So then, if chard is neither Swiss nor a thistle, what exactly is it?

It's a member of the beet family. Had I known this years ago, when I was first passed a heaping plate of creamed chard, I would have refused to taste it. Throughout my childhood I fought in vain to stop my mother from adding canned beet slices to my tuna salad, a move that irrevocably dyed it a ruby red.

In this country chard is prized for its crinkly leaves, but Schneider is baffled by Americans who lop off the stems and discard them, missing out on their mellow flavor when cooked. Plus, the stems of rainbow chard come in about as many eye-popping colors as a Pucci scarf: chartreuse, candy pink, magenta, cherry, lemon yellow and orange, among others. Although I can appreciate the stems, I'm an inveterate leaf man. I like their deep, earthy flavor, especially when sauteed in butter and sprinkled with a pinch of fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper.

Chard is particularly popular in the Mediterranean, where it's prepared in countless inventive ways. In Portugal, it's sauteed with an abundance of garlic and robust olive oil. Throughout the Middle East, chefs add cinnamon, cumin, paprika and hot peppers. Cooks from Nice and Provence usually braise the stalks in bouillon and season them with mashed garlic and anchovies.

Befitting a vegetable with no nationality, the accompanying recipe gets its inspiration from several locales. It's a nod to Greece, where chard is often stewed with leeks and dill, as well as a homage to Catalonia, where raisins and pine nuts are sprinkled on for extra richness.

A few notes when preparing chard: Like spinach, it contains a lot of grit. Take care to wash the leaves thoroughly in several changes of water. If you want to use both stems and leaves, cut the stems into 1/2-inch pieces and simmer them in chicken stock for 10 minutes or until crisp-tender, then cook them with the leeks. If you use red or rainbow chard, the color may bleed and stain the leeks. If you're a purist like me, opt for the white stalks.