Swiss Chard and White Bean Stew

I saw this in this month’s Food and Wine and couldn’t resist its simplicity. It literally took two minutes to make and was pretty good considering the amount of effort I put into it. We cooked sausages to go along with it and ended up putting them in our stew… though I’m not entirely sure it needed the meat. ** See update below **

Swiss Chard and White Bean Stew
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 T olive oil
2 pounds swiss chard, stemmed and leaves cut into 2″ crosswise
1 can cannelini beans
1: 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 t italian seasoning (or mix of thyme, oregano, etc.)
salt, pepper, etc

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add chard. Simmer of medium heat for about 8 minutes until chard is tender, but not soft.
Drain Chard and press out excess water.
Heat the olive oil.
Add garlic and seasoning and cook over moderate heat until golden.
Add the canned tomatoes. Bring to a boil for one minute.
Add cannelini beans, cook over moderate heat for 3 minutes.
Add chard, cook over moderate heat for 5 minutes, until flavors are married.

Serve.

** I made this again last night and revised the recipe a bit.  It was much more delicious this time around. Here are the notes:

I barely branched the chard, doubled the cannelini beans, and added .5 pound ground pork sausage.   It was delicious.