What To Do With This?

Have you ever wanted to try something so badly but when presented with the opportunity you blank?  Swiss chard has been on the ‘to-try’ list for a very long time.  We kept running into it in recipes and in the market.  It’s a gorgeous vegetable, a bit entrancing with its deep green foliage and reddish-pink backbone.  We finally just picked up a bunch from the store and dropped it into our basket.  There.  It was done.  Well, almost.  We still had to cook it, but we had no idea where to start.  Things that make you go ‘hmmm…’, right?
Like most of our recipes, this one was put together based on what we had to work with already.  It’s a pretty light list of ingredients, which makes it a keeper for the midweek meal.  Plus, it adds a few extra nutrients to the typical pasta dish.  Be sure not to overcook the greens.  That’s what keeps all of those good-for-you vitamins alive and kickin’, along with maintaining the bite of the chard.

Spinach and Swiss Chard Pasta – Serves 4
1/2 pound rotini pasta, cooked (save water)
1/4 cup pasta water
1/2 red onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch swiss chard, sliced
2 cups baby spinach, sliced
1 1/3 cups tomato pasta sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Olive oil
Kosher salt

1.  Heat a swirl of olive oil in a pan on medium high heat and add onions and garlic. Cook until onions soften, approx. 3-5 minutes.

2.  Add chard and spinach, along with pasta water and cook down until greens just begin to wilt, approx. 1-2 minutes.

3.  Add pasta sauce, cream and red pepper flakes. Stir well.

4.  Fold in cooked pasta until combined. Salt to taste.

Click HERE for the printable recipe.