Ingredients

1 ½ pounds boiling potatoes

1 large bunch chard (about 11/2 pounds)

Salt

1 large clove garlic

¼ cup olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

New-season extra-virgin olive oil, for garnish

Parmesan, for garnish

Preparation

  1. Peel and cut the potatoes into small dice. You should have about 4 cups. Wash the chard in several changes of cold water, drain and then strip the leaves from the stems. Reserve and dice the chard stems. You should have about 11/2 cups.
  2. Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil. Cook chard leaves in boiling water until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, and spread them out to cool. With your hands, squeeze out the excess water. Rough-chop the chard leaves.
  3. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Sweat the chard stems in olive oil over medium heat in a 6-quart stockpot. After 2 minutes, add the garlic and pinch of salt; continue sweating for 5 minutes.
  4. Add the potatoes and 2 quarts of cold water to the chard stems. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and continue cooking until the potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes. Add the chopped chard leaves and simmer 2 to 4 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper (we added 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper). This makes about 3 quarts soup.
  5. Serve with a drizzle of new-season, cold-pressed olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan.