Crostini with hummus and chard.

by in Appetizers & snacks

The one thing that’s thriving in my backyard vegetable garden—in spite of heavy July rain and a marauding groundhog—is Swiss chard. It grows, constantly, all summer long. I started harvesting big, tasty leaves in early spring and haven’t stopped. Even in August, the Swiss chard isn’t flinching.


Since we have so much of it, I’ve been coming up with new ways to cook with Swiss chard. Like this yummy crostini recipe with hummus, Swiss chard and Feta cheese. You can use store-bought hummus or make your own (recipe below). If you can, toast your bread rounds on the grill for extra flavor (a broiler or oven works, too).

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crostini with hummus, Swiss chard and Feta

(makes about 12)

1/2 large French baguette, sliced on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices
hummus (see recipe below)
6 large leaves Swiss chard, stems trimmed and cut into wide ribbons
1/4 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
olive oil
salt and fresh-ground pepper

Preheat broiler or grill. Drizzle the bread slices with olive oil and season with salt. Broil or grill the crostini until golden brown around the edges (but you don’t want the crostini to be rock-hard).

Warm 1 Tbsp. of olive in a large skillet; add Swiss chard and cook, stirring gently, until the chard begins to soften but isn’t completely wilted into a dark green mass. Season chard with salt and pepper and set aside.

Spread some of the hummus on each crostini; top with a bit of sautéd chard and a few crumbles of Feta. Transfer the crostini to a serving platter and drizzle with a bit of good olive oil and top with fresh-cracked pepper.

homemade hummus recipe

1 14-ounce can chickpeas, drained (1/2 cup of liquid reserved)
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. tahini
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp. salt

Place the chickpeas, garlic, tahini and lemon juice in a blender or food processor; process until smooth and well-combined, adding reserved liquid or water if necessary to thin out the hummus. Add salt and process to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

4 thoughts on “Crostini with hummus and chard.”

  1. I would love to make hummus but I have a hard time buying tahini. It always separates so it’s all oil on the top and then rock hard solid stuff on the bottom. Do you have any advice for buying and using tahini?

    • Ah, yes … the tahini conundrum. If you don’t refrigerate the jar, it will separate; if you do, the mix remains emulsified but it gets firm and hard to scoop.

      I don’t refrigerate tahini, and use a table knife to give it a good stir before I use it. Some people say that if you turn the jar upside down (on a plate, to catch any leaks), the oil will reabsorb into the paste on its own.

      I’ve used a couple of different brands of tahini, but the one I like best is Ziyad (in the grocery store). It has a less bitter flavor than the canned variety I’ve tried, and the paste isn’t so concrete-like, so it’s easier to stir.

      Give it a try, Sondra — and also try the tahini salad dressing over tomatoes that I posted recently. Let us know how it goes!

      • Thanks so much for this information. I’m relieved to know that I’m not the only person who has encountered this problem! I just ordered some Ziyad tahini from Amazon and I’ll give it a try in both the hummus and the salad dressing and let you know whether I was able to make it work.