At The Witch’s Table: Swiss Chard Gratin for Amping up Intuition – Aug. 2026

One of our first harvests of chard this growing season.

Creator’s Note: This content is being offered to all as a sample of what you’ll find At The Witch’s Table tier and up. These tier’s receive this Kitchen-Witch-centric content, like harvest creation recipes (thing garden to table with magic!), seasonal preservation, hearth practices, and new food magic pathways to explore. This entry even includes a downloadable recipe. Come sit at The Witch’s Table!  

Sorting another harvest of Swiss chard. Big leaves get stuffed; smaller leaves for making the chard gratin, and the baby ones eaten raw.

Power Food In The Yard

We are having a bumper crop of Swiss chard this year. I’ve gotten two harvests from it already this season, and because of self-seeding last fall and successive sowing all of last year, it looks like we’ll be harvesting perhaps up to a sixth harvest, since it’ll produce well into autumn. 

I am far from sad about this. I’m filling our bellies and freezers with this wonderful plant ally. And the most special part is that we get to share with kin and community. I’m hoping to drop another mess of it off at the food bank along with our weekly egg delivery – which your support here helps fund. 

I’ve been growing chard for decades now and each growing season one of my favorite things to make with the chard harvest is chard gratin. Eating it feels like a slow summer dance at twilight outdoors. Even though there’s luscious ingredients like cheese and butter in the recipe, you do not feel guilty eating this recipe. If you’re the newest of kitchen witches, you will feel like a pro-chef with this one. This makes a great meatless Monday meal or as a side dish to any kind of meat dish. 

The best part is that it helps your intuition because this leafy green contains prebiotics, which feeds your physical gut, which then feeds your spiritual gut. This is your divine sense beyond the physical which we all possess. We will be diving deeper into this idea of gut-craft axis as I feature a new type of magic that is all about food, our witchy intuition, and how to get them all in right relationship so you can be the most powerful and healthy you, Witch! More on that soon. Right now, let’s get to this working. 

Eat chard gratin as a main or a side. Seen here with some grilled pork sirloin steaks.

Charging Up Intuition Chard Gratin

Notes: 

• Goat’s butter is the go-to on our covenstead. It’s more flavorful, easier to digest, and contains medium-chain fats, which tend to be used sooner for energy and not stored as fat. It can be found in most markets. Or, find yourself a goat farmer and get it from them. 

• Goat milk, like the butter, has a tangier flavor, which is great for cooking a savory dish like chard gratin; but we prefer it for its ease of digestion. If your local market has goat butter, they likely have goat milk, too. Can’t find it? Try an A2 cow’s milk, which is produced from selected cows with a higher A2 beta casein peptide, which many people find easier on the belly. 

• Pecorino Romano is the first choice here because it’s made from sheep’s milk, which is easier on our gut than any made with cow’s milk, which most Parmigiano-Reggiano (aka parmesan) cheese is. Pecorino Romano is saltier and has a tangier flavor than the mild, slightly sweeter parmesan. Whatever you do, don’t use kraft grated. Get a hunk of cheese and grate it yourself. Another activity where you can put energy/intention into the food before continuing with the working. (Maybe add a ‘shredding’ intention as you do it, like, I shred anything that doesn’t serve me and my intuition. 

• Sourdough panko is now available in many a market. Use regular if unable to source it. Or make your own. Again, long-fermented sourdough products are not only tastier, they are better for your digestive system. 

• For the heavy based ovenproof pot, I use a small 5 qt. Stainless steel Dutch oven. It doesn’t need a lid. I don’t use my cast iron cauldron for this one because the other one has a wider base area and functions more like a stove-to-oven casserole dish.  

Equipment:

Candle (optional)

Measuring cups & spoons

Ovenproof pot

Stirring spoon/spatula

Whisk (optional) 

Cutting board

Knife

Ingredients:

8 cups of Swiss chard, stems and veins trimmed, and chopped roughly

3 tablespoons goat’s butter

⅓ cup flour

1 ½ cup goat’s milk

1 cup grated Pecorino Romano

3 tablespoons dried sourdough panko

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F/170C degrees. If it’s in your practice to light a candle and bless your working or call in the elements before you start cooking in your kitchen, do this now. 

2. Get all your ingredients together. Put your intention into at least the greens, saying: I partner with these greens to power up my intuition. 

3. Place a heavy based oven-safe pot over medium heat. 

4. Add butter and the flour and stir for 3 to 5 minutes creating a roux. Be sure not to let it boil, but to ‘cook’ the flour and prepare for creating the sauce the chard will bake in.

5. Whisk the mixture and add the milk a little at a time. Stir to incorporate.

6. Once all the milk is incorporated, and the mix is lump free, add the chard. Stir the mixture until chard wilts.

7. Once the chard has wilted, wipe down the sides of the dish.

8. Sprinkle bread crumbs and grated cheese.

9. Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.