Rainbow Vegetable Saute

While you can taste each one of the seasonal ingredients in this dish, the combination, both sweet and savory, works great. It looks just as beautiful as it tastes.

Ingredients

1/3 cup olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon for pan

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 tsp. ground ancho chile powder (available on spice racks in most grocery stores)

Pinch of cayenne pepper, or more to taste

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. honey

Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1 large red onion, peeled

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled

6 cups Swiss chard, thick lower stems discarded

2, 10 oz. packages frozen corn, thawed and drained

Directions

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over low heat.  Add garlic.  Sauté until softened, but do allow the garlic to brown, about 3 minutes.  Set pan aside to cool.

Meanwhile cut red onion, sweet potatoes, and Swiss chard into 1/2- inch pieces.

Make sauce: Transfer reserved oil and garlic mixture to a blender or mini-processor. (Reserve pan.) Add ancho chile powder, cayenne pepper, vinegar, and honey.  Blend.  Add salt and pepper to sauce, as needed. Set aside.

Place reserved skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Add onions and sauté, stirring often, until they are caramelized- about 10 minutes. Add sweet potatoes and reserved sauce. Stir, cover, and let simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 15-20 minutes.  (If pan gets too dry, add up to 1/4 cup water and re-cover.)

Remove cover and add as many large handfuls of Swiss chard as the pan will hold. Add all the corn, and cover, cooking for 2 minutes. Add remaining Swiss chard, cover pan, and cook until all the chard has wilted and the corn is warm. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper, as needed.

Makes 8-10 servings.