This is a wonderful side dish that goes well with fish or any sea food. I’ve tried it first time when I was just a little girl vacationing with my parents at the Adriatic coast of Croatia. It is very simple and easy to make and so rich in flavor. Couple of years ago when we traveled to Bosnia, we also visited Croatian coast and had some excellent fish and potatoes with swiss chard (Blitva – in Croatian). The other day I was looking through our summer vacation photos and just had the urge to cook blitva with some fish.

Island of Pag, Croatia [ this handsome man in the picture is my husband 🙂 ]

Mediterranean Potatoes and Swiss Chard

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs (750 g) potatoes
• 1 lb (500 g) Swiss chard
• 3 – 4 tbsp olive oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
• 3 – 4 garlic cloves
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Peel potatoes and cut them into bite-size cubes. Boil (not too soft) and strain them. Set aside.

2. Clean and wash Swiss chard, remove the stems by folding leaves into half and cutting them out. Cut leaves into 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) ribbons. Boil them for about 5 minutes in salted water. Strain. (If you want a mashed potatoes effect, reserve about 1/2 cup of boiling water and add to sauteed chard)

3. Crush and finelly chop garlic. Lightly heat olive oil, add garlic and sautee just until fragrant. Now add Swiss chard, sautee for few more minutes and add potatoes. Spice with salt and fresh ground black pepper. That is all.

Enjoy with some salt water fish or other sea food!