The pasta makes an excellent foil for the sometimes assertive flavor of Swiss chard, and they balance perfectly. The trick to the sauce is reducing some of the pasta water to bind with oil, forming a light coating.
INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch of Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves cut into small bits and washed, ½ cup stems dice 1/8th inch and washed ½ medium yellow or white onion, diced 1/8th inch 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ teaspoon fresh thyme, minced Salt and pepper to taste Olive oil as needed 1-2 tablespoon butter ½ cup white wine 1 pound orecchiette pasta Parmesan cheese to taste (or 2-3 tablespoons if you wish to use it as part of the sauce. See Chef’s Tips.)
METHOD:
Get a pot of water going for you pasta. Be sure to use enough salt in the water and a large enough pot so the pasta has room to move.
While the water comes to the boil, heat a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat. When the pan is hot, film with oil. When the oil is hot, add the chard stems and onions. Stir to coat.
Cook gently, avoiding browning the vegetables. You just want them to be tender and translucent.
When the vegetables are translucent and becoming tender, add the garlic to the center of the pan and gently cook until fragrant. Stir the garlic into the rest of the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, add the thyme, and toss to combine.
Add the wine to the pan, and cook until it has reduced completely.
Add the chard leaves to the pan and cook just to wilt. Remove the pan from the heat.
While the vegetables are cooking, cook the pasta. Figure it will take 11 to 15 minutes for dried pasta, so start it when you add the wine to the pan.
Cook the pasta as directed on the package. When the pasta is done, before you drain the pasta, scoop out a big coffee cup full of the pasta cooking water and reserve. (This is the base of your sauce.) Drain the pasta.
Return the pasta pot to the burner, and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the 1 tablespoon of butter. Stir together, and as soon as the butter is melting, add half the reserved pasta water. Bring to a boil, and toss in the pasta. Stir vigorously with a wooden spatula, being sure nothing fuses to the bottom of the pan. Check to see if there is enough liquid in the pan to coat the pasta. The water should be thickening. If the water is evaporating really quickly, add the rest of the water. Add another tablespoon of butter if the sauce is not thickening/coating well.* When the pasta has a nice shiny coating of “sauce” from the water and butter/oil, pull the pan from the heat and add the vegetables to the pan and toss to mix, being sure to heat the vegetables through.
Taste the dish and season with salt and pepper if need be.
Pass the cheese and serve hot.
Chef’s Tips:
*A couple factors come into play as to how much water/butter/oil to use and how well the sauce thickens. Water hardness can be a factor, and more importantly, the pasta type you use will factor in. The starch that comes out of the pasta and gets into the water is much of what forms the coating for the sauce. If your pasta doesn’t throw off much starch, you will need more butter. Hard water may interfere with starch release, as well as how the pasta was manufactured. (Who knew something as simple as pasta could be so complex?) Do the recipe a couple times and you will learn what you need from your pasta brand and water.
If you wish, you can ensure a coating that will work by simply adding 2-3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese to the pasta as you are reducing the pasta water. A small amount of cheeses goes a long way to yielding viscosity, and this small amount will not flavor the pasta very much. It will also act as a seasoning. For a vegan version of this “sauce”, be sure to save a little more water, and use extra oil, boiling well to put the oil into suspension before adding the pasta. Vigorous stirring will also kick loose some extra starch to help thicken the sauce. If you need something more substantial, start the recipe by sautéing some Italian sausage, the carry on with the recipe.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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