When you find a beautiful bunch of rainbow chard, grab it! Also known as Swiss chard, this leafy green with the mesmerisingly colourful stems, is also incredibly nutritious and delicious when cooked very simply. In Cypriot cuisine, most green vegetables are boiled and dressed with plenty of olive oil and lemon - a combination that works well with most mediterranean dishes.

Boiled greens can also lose some of their nutrients when boiled in too much water, or over cooked. This is why I use the steam fry method for cooking many vegetables, from broccoli to carrots and leafy greens. It’s simply means to cook vegetables in very little water (usually in a frying pan) until it is just cooked and still a little firm. This can take anything from five to ten minutes, depending on the size of the chopped vegetable and how firm or tender you prefer it.

If the earthy taste is not to your liking, try adding a little to beans such as black-eyed beans. Swiss chard is abundant in vitamin K and vitamin A and nitrates. Here are more reasons for you to include chard varieties into your diet:

Vitamin A: vision, immune system, bone and muscle strength

Vitamin K: bone and blood health

Nitrates: lower blood pressure, improve physical performance

STEAM FRIED RAINBOW CHARD

Serves 2

250g rainbow chard

1 cup water

Extra virgin olive oil, to taste

Juice of 1/2 a lemon, to taste

Sea salt, to taste

1. Wash the rainbow chard well and chop the leaves and stem into bite sized pieces.

2. Place the chopped chard into a large frying pan, add 1 cup of water and season with a little salt. Bring to the boil and cook on medium high heat for 5 - 10 minutes or until the stem and leaves are tender but not over cooked.

Note: You may wish to cook the stems a little first and then add the leafy tops afterwards.