Red Lentil and Swiss Chard Curry with Chickpeas

Credit: Lisa Manfield

This curried stew is delicious with a dollop of plain yogurt

I love to make large pots of stew or soup on a Sunday evening.

If you’re lucky and the recipe turns out right, you can eat for a week, or freeze a little for another day. Served over brown rice, this red lentil and swiss chard curry I found at Epicurious.com made for a healthy meal that lasted all week and then some.

As a newbie cook, this was my first time working with Swiss chard. And for those of you who haven’t cooked with it yet, it’s a lot like cooking spinach. Your pile of chopped chard might seem like way too much greens for one pot, but it cooks down nicely and gives some lovely colour to the dish.

On a tip from my ever-frugal mother, I saved the Swiss chard stalks in a plastic bag, and later used them in soup. You can do this with any vegetable bits you don’t use in your main dishes. Just throw them in a resealable bag and freeze them until you’re making a soup stalk.