In Emilia-Romagna, we cook with butter. This is not negotiable. The south has its olive oil; we have our butter, our Parmigiano-Reggiano, our egg pasta. These are the foundations of our cooking, and they appear together in this simple preparation of Swiss chard.

The greens must be thoroughly dried after washing. Water is the enemy of proper sautéing. It creates steam instead of allowing the butter to do its work. You want the chard to soften in the fat, to absorb it, to become silky rather than waterlogged.

The cheese goes on at the end, off the heat, when the greens are still hot enough to melt it into strands. You toss it through, and the Parmigiano becomes one with the vegetables. This is not a garnish. This is a transformation. What you keep out is as significant as what you put in: no garlic, no onion, no herbs. Just chard, butter, cheese, and the understanding that simplicity demands excellence.