Swiss chard’s versatility as a leafy green shines in these 4 recipes Kari Sonde Swiss chard, though not actually from Switzerland but from the Mediterranean, is a beautiful vegetable with bright stems and deep-green leaves, quite as easily used as spinach. A relative of the beet, in species and slightly in flavor when raw, chard can be subbed in for almost any hardy, leafy-green vegetable. Although many forgo edible kale or collard stems because of their tough texture, chard stems are usually eaten as well, by chopping and sauteing them before adding the leaves. Read on for some of our favorite chard preparations, and check out our Recipe Finder for even more recipes featuring the vegetable. Bitter greens are easy to love in these stir-fry, pasta, salad and soup recipes