I cut this recipe out of
Edible Chesapeake earlier this summer and finally got around to making it last night. And it was so good I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to try it! I used those ugly wrinkled but really tasty tomatoes from the farmers market and chickpeas that I cooked from dried beans with a bit of extra garlic. I left the carrots out well, I forgot I used the last ones earlier in the week and also that I'm not so fond of carrots in tomato sauce. Didn't miss them at all. The sauce started out like a basic tomato sauce very similar to what I make for homemade marinara. Loved the addition of chickpeas- I wasn't sure how they were going to help the recipe but they tasted great- noticeable in a good way! Used some whole wheat elbow macaroni that I had. Loved the chard- I used a bunch of rainbow chard and loved the color in the finished dish. Served this with some multigrain seeded bread and was in heaven. I wonder about adding some white wine to this dish...
The consistency of the sauce was a bit watery so I'm not sure about being so careful to reserve and then add the juices as rec in the directions.
Pasta with Tomatoes and Swiss Chard
Edible Chesapeake, Summer 2009
By Edgar Kuschan
This simple dish is a complete meal assembled in one pan. Use fresh tomatoes when they are in season, canned tomatoes when they are not. Don’t leave out the hot pepper. The sauce is supposed to be spicy like an Italian “arrabiatta” or “angry” sauce.
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 15-oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed
4 medium carrots, thinly sliced on a diagonal
2 ½ lbs fresh tomatoes peeled and seeded, with any liquid reserved, or 1 28-oz can whole tomatoes, stem ends and any skin removed, and then coarsely mashed
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 bunches Swiss chard (about 1 ½ lbs)
12 oz penne pasta
Freshly ground black pepper
Put a large pot of water on to boil for cooking the pasta.
Put a large (13-inch) high-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and garlic. When the garlic starts to sizzle, stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the red pepper flakes and stir for 30 seconds more. Add the carrots, chick peas, tomatoes and reserved juices, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat so that the sauce bubbles gently. Cook uncovered until the sauce is thickened (about 35 minutes or less, if you’re using canned tomatoes). When the sauce is thickened, cover and reduce the heat to low.
While the sauce cooks, prepare the Swiss chard. Strip the leaves from the central stems, tearing them into pieces 3 - 4 inches long. Discard the stems. Wash the chard and spin it dry.
Start cooking the pasta. After about 6 minutes, add the chard to the tomato sauce, cover and increase the heat, stirring occasionally as the chard wilts. The chard should be tender by the time the pasta is ready. Drain the pasta and stir it into the sauce, taste, add more salt if needed, and finish with some freshly ground black pepper, if desired. Serves 4.
Rev: Pasta with Tomatoes and Swiss Chard
Linear Mode
