Blitva (Swiss Chard with Potatoes)
on May 06, 2015, Updated Dec 20, 2020
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Blitva is loaded with health, flavor and color. This Croatian side dish of wilted Swiss chard and chunks of garlicky potatoes pairs well with healthy fish recipes and just about anything else you can think of.
Read on and we’ll show you how to make this healthy side dish called blitva in just 25 minutes!
What is it?
Blitva is made with Swiss chard and potatoes sauteed with garlic. This Croatian dish is dark, green, and leaf; the perfect combinations for healthy eating.
Most of us don’t get enough of this nutritionally packed food group, usually because it is often boring, dull, and tasteless. Blitva, on the other hand, is fast, easy-to-make, and delicious. Even our kids eat this one!
Ingredients and notes
Swiss Chard is the star ingredient of blitva. You’ll recognize this healthy vegetable by it’s broad, leafy, and dark green appearance. Chard is considered a power food because of it’s dense nutrients including:
- Vitamins A, C, and K.
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Iron
- Dietary Fiber
Yukon Gold Potatoes – Their slightly buttery taste is the perfect match the chard and garlic in blitva. Because of their waxy texture they won’t get mushy and will add a nice texture to this healthy side dish.
Expert cooking tips
Look for chard that has firm stems and deep green leaves. Pass it over if appears wilted, has pest damage, or has broken stalks and leaves.
How to make blitva
You’ll need a sauce 4 quart sauce pan and a large saute pan to make this blitva.
Yukon gold potatoes are a great choice for making blitva.
- Peel, wedge, and boil the potatoes for 5-7 minutes using a saucepan.
- Saute some sliced garlic cloves in hot olive oil for a minute or two.
- Add the potatoes and cook for an additional 4 or 5 minutes, until golden.
- Stir in the Swiss chard and lemon juice and cook for about 5 minutes until wilted. Salt and pepper to taste.
Fun Fact:
Chard a distant cousin to the ordinary garden beet. Look at the greens of the beet and the broad leaves of chard and you’ll see the family resemblance.
Common questions
To store, wrap it in a damp paper towel and place in the crisper of your refrigerator. It should stay good for 7 to 10 days.
Fresh young chard can be used raw in salads while mature chard leaves and stalks are typically cooked or sautéed as in this blitva recipe. Their bitterness fades with cooking, leaving a refined flavor which is more delicate than that of cooked spinach.
Related recipes
- Wilted chard with fennel and roasted beets
- Crustless vegetable quiche
- Lentils and chickpeas with greens
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Blitva (Swiss Chard with Potatoes)
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 lb. Swiss chard, tough stems removed, tender stems and leaves torn into 2″ pieces
- juice from 1/2 fresh lemon
Instructions
- Boil potatoes in a 4-qt. saucepan of salted water until tender, 5–7 minutes; drain and set aside.
- Add oil to saucepan; place over medium-high heat.
- Add garlic; cook until soft, 1–2 minutes.
- Add potatoes; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 5–7 minutes.
- Stir in Swiss chard, add lemon juice and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper
Notes
- Be sure and wash and rinse the chard before using.
- Peel the leaves of chard off the stalks and discard the large, thick stalks. Cut the thinner stalks and saute with the sliced leaves.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is absolutely delicious! I chopped up the stems of the chard and added them with the potatoes, then added the greens a few minutes later, making sure I salted each addition of new ingredient. Added the lemon juice right before serving. The potatoes just melded with the chard. Could have eaten the entire pan, haha!
So happy you enjoyed this Blitva recipe; thanks very much for the awesome feedback!
Love swiss chard and what a healthy recipe Dan! Thanks for sharing!
New dish for me—-I love that it’s Croatian. Makes it a conversation piece. Simple with two favorite ingredients
of mine. It flat out looks appetizing too. I had to pin it.
Thanks, Carol. This one is D&D. Different and Delicious!