Blitva – Swiss Chard with Potatoes, Croatian Style
Blitva is a delicious vegan swiss chard recipe from Croatia. Discover the traditional swiss chard with potatoes dish - quick and easy to prepare.
Ingredients
- 1 kg Swiss chard regardless of whether green or colored
- 500 g potatoes
- 5 cloves garlic
- 8 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp (homemade) vegetable stock powder
- 1 tsp salt Plus 1 tbsp more for the boiling water
- pepper
Instructions
- Wash and clean the Swiss chard. Separate the leaves from the stalks (see photos in the post).Cut the stalks into pieces about 0.5–1 cm thick and slice the leaves into thin strips.
- Peel the potatoes, cut them into smaller pieces and add them to about 2 liters of boiling salted water.
- After 5 minutes, add the chopped Swiss chard stalks and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Then add the chard leaves and cook for up to 5 more minutes – until the potatoes and stalks are soft and the leaves have wilted.
- Meanwhile, finely chop the garlic.
- Drain the cooked vegetables using a colander.
- In a large pan, heat about 5 tbsp of olive oil and briefly sauté the garlic for just a few seconds (around 5 seconds) – just enough to mellow its sharpness.
- Add the cooked potatoes and Swiss chard to the pan. Lightly mash the potatoes with a potato masher or fork.
- Stir in the stock powder and the remaining 3 tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Optionally, drizzle a bit of olive oil on top when serving.
Notes
- This amount is good for 2 to 3 main dishes or 4 to 5 side dishes.
- Instead of vegetable stock powder, you can also use Vegeta *), the condiment of the Balkans. In Vienna, I find it in most regular supermarkets. Be sure to buy the glutamate-free version.
- Recipe update: I revised the recipe in June 2025 and think it tastes even better and more authentic now. If you'd like to access my original version, you can access it via the "Wayback Machine" internet archive.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 portion (side dish)Calories: 536kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 8gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 31gSodium: 1147mgPotassium: 1526mgFiber: 7gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 15301IUVitamin C: 103mgCalcium: 155mgIron: 6mg