Gluten-free job's tears pair wonderfully with Swiss chard and white beans in this easy vegan dish.
Swiss chard is like two vegetables in one. Most recipes recommend removing the stems and saving them for another use, but very few recipes exist for chard stems alone, so they often go unused. I like to use the whole vegetable in my recipes. The stems need to be cooked longer, so I chop them and cook them along with the onions at the beginning and add the leaves near the end.
Cook the Job’s tears or your choice of grain according to package directions. For Job’s tears, I used 2 cups of water and cooked, covered, on low for an hour. Then I drained the water off before proceeding with the recipe.
Remove the stems from the chard just where the leaf meets the stem. Chop each stem into 1/2-inch pieces and set aside. Slice the leaves into 1/2-inch slices and keep separate from the stems.
Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the chard stems and the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until the onion begins to turn golden. Add water a tablespoon at a time to prevent sticking, if necessary. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute.
Add the cooked Job’s tears, beans, tomatoes, basil, and olives and bring to a simmer. Add the chard leaves, reduce heat to medium, and cover tightly. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chard is tender (allow 5-12 minutes, depending on your taste). Add the nutritional yeast and vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste
Notes
If chard is unavailable, kale makes a good substitute, though you may not need the balsamic vinegar, which I use to cut the bitter flavor of the chard.Each serving is 4 points on Weight Watchers Freestyle program.