Warm vegetable salads are perfect for suddenly cool summer evenings. They are even more exciting with unexpected inclusions like Swiss chard stem. Swiss chard leaves are usually separated from the stems because they cook differently. While you can cook them together, the results are not always ideal. Most people simply discard the stems, but when sliced thin and sautéed with green beans and garlic, they are a pleasure: sweet, slightly crunchy, with a hint of earthiness and a bright splash of color to liven up your plate.
We started this dish with thinly sliced garlic in cold olive oil. We slowly heated the oil and cooked the garlic until it browned. We drained the garlic on paper towels and let it cool and crisp. We cooked the beans and stems in the garlic-infused oil, and when they were tender, we added some soy sauce and sherry vinegar. We transferred the warm salad to a bowl and crumbled the crispy garlic over the top.
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