Cheesy Swiss Chard Bake

Categories: main dish

Ingredients

• 1 TB. vegetable oil
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced (they shrink down a lot so 2-3 cups raw, sliced onion is good)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced (1 tsp. PENZEYS MINCED GARLIC)
• 1/4 tsp. KOSHER-STYLE FLAKE SALT
• 2 large bunches chard, regular or rainbow, stems finely chopped, leaves sliced into ribbons
• 1/4 tsp. GROUND NUTMEG
• 6 breakfast sausage links (optional)
• 2 TB. butter
• 6 Cups cubed day-old bread (a dense bread is good)
• 3 TB. olive oil
• 1-3 tsp. seasoning (good seasonings with salt for this dish would be SANDWICH SPRINKLE, MUSKEGON AVE. or FOX POINT. Salt-free choices would be SUNNY PARIS, MURAL OF FLAVOR or TUSCAN SUNSET)
• 1 Cup grated Gruyère cheese (or Swiss)
• 2 - 2 1/2 Cups broth (or 2-21/2 Cups water mixed with 2 tsp. SOUP BASE)

Directions

1. Heat a Dutch oven or heavy skillet over medium heat and add 1 TB. of vegetable oil.

2. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat to medium-low, continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are browned—another 15 minutes. If using raw garlic, add it for the final 10 minutes of cooking. If using PENZEYS MINCED GARLIC add it right at the end.

4. Remove the onions from the pan, sprinkle with FLAKE SALT and set aside.

5. Raise heat to medium, add the Swiss chard stems and cook for 5 minutes until slightly softened. Add the leaves and stir until wilted, another 3-5 minutes.

6. Sprinkle NUTMEG over the top of the chard. Set aside separately from the onions.

7. Brown sausages for 3-5 minutes in the pan, if using. Chop into small pieces and set aside.

8. Preheat the oven to 325°.

9. Melt the butter and put it in a deep casserole dish.

10. In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with the olive oil and SEASONING of your choice. Mix to combine and set aside.

11. Layer half of the onions across the bottom of the casserole dish.

12. Top with half of the bread cubes, half of the chard, half of the sausage (if using) and half of the cheese.

13. Press down with the back of a spatula. Repeat layers.

14. Heat the broth and pour over the casserole until you can see the liquid under the top layer. Press the layers down into the broth.

15. Cover the pan and bake for 90 minutes until lightly browned.

16. Remove the cover, return to the oven, increase heat to 375° and continue baking until nicely browned, about 15-20 more minutes. Serve.

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