SPAGHETTI WITH BACON AND CHARD
Bacon and chard are the stars of this quick pasta dinner. Smokey bacon flavors creamy sauce with sharp Pecorino cheese that coats swirls of spaghetti and the earthy greens. It's a decadent way to eat your veggies.
Provided by Rachael Ray : Food Network
Categories main-dish
Time 30m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 22
Steps:
- Gather your ingredients.
- Place a large pot of water on to boil for pasta.
- Stem the chard. Chop the stems. Coarsely chop the greens and keep separate.
- Stack the bacon and cut the bacon into batons 1/8 to 1/4-inch wide.
- Peel and chop the onion. Halve the leek lengthwise and trim the tough green tops. Run the leek under the water and wash thoroughly. Chop the leek, whites and light greens. Peel the garlic and grate or chop.
- Heat a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and render, then remove from pan, if desired. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in pan, drain off excess if there is any.
- Add EVOO or butter to pan and add the stems, onions, leeks and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and thyme and soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add wine and stock if using and let it absorb.
- Salt boiling water and cook pasta to 1 minute less than package directions for al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup starchy water.
- Toast nuts while pasta cooks in small skillet over moderate heat.
- Add cream to sauce, wilt the greens into stems and add a little nutmeg. Return bacon to pan. Drain pasta and add to sauce and greens with reserved water and cheese. Toss pasta 1 minute. Adjust seasoning and serve topped with chopped toasted nuts and pass more cheese at table.
- To a shaker, add wine, brandy, simple syrup, allspice and orange juice. Shake it up. Pour into a wine glass and top with seltzer.
PASTA WITH SWISS CHARD, BACON, AND LEMONY RICOTTA CHEESE
Steps:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. When the water comes to a boil, add salt and cook the pasta al dente.
- While the pasta cooks, preheat a large, deep skillet over moderate heat. Add the EVOO and bacon and cook until the bacon crisps, about 3 minutes. To the bacon add the garlic, onions, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until the onions are lightly caramelized. Add the chopped Swiss chard, toss to coat, and wilt the chard down. Turn the heat up to high and add the chicken stock and a couple of ladles, about a cup, of the starchy, boiling water from the cooking pasta. When the liquid comes up to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 6 to 7 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the ricotta with the lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Place 1/4 cup of the ricotta mixture in the bottom of each of 4 pasta bowls and reserve.
- Add the lemon juice to the Swiss chard. Drain the pasta well and toss with the greens for a minute or so to let the juices absorb into the pasta. Turn the heat off and add the grated Parmigiano cheese to the pasta and greens and continue to toss to distribute. Serve the pasta immediately, dishing it up on top of the ricotta cheese. Stir the lemony ricotta up in your bowl to mix with the pasta.
CREAMY SWISS CHARD PASTA WITH LEEKS, TARRAGON AND LEMON ZEST
This creamy vegetarian pasta is hearty enough for chilly temperatures while still nodding toward spring with the addition of bright-green chard, leeks and fresh herbs. For texture, it's topped with toasted panko, a garnish that can go many ways: Instead of using nutritional yeast, which adds tangy flavor here, you can melt a finely chopped anchovy with the butter and toss it with the panko. You could also add some ground coriander, Italian seasoning or herbes de Provence. Toasted panko, plain bread crumbs or even crushed croutons are a solid back-pocket trick to add crunch to any pasta, especially the creamiest kind. Don't skip the tarragon and lemon zest garnish, which add a fresh note to an otherwise-rich dish.
Provided by Alexa Weibel
Categories dinner, weekday, pastas, vegetables, main course
Time 30m
Yield 4 servings
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the chard: Tear the leaves off the stems, separating the leaves and stems. Thinly slice the stems, then coarsely tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. Set both aside in separate bowls.
- Prepare the leeks: Trim off the bottom and the dark green portion at the top, halve the remaining white and pale green portion lengthwise, then thinly slice them crosswise. Wash and drain the sliced leeks. Set aside.
- Prepare the bread crumbs: In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium. Add the panko, season lightly with salt and generously with pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in nutritional yeast, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Wipe out the skillet. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter and melt over medium-high. Add the leeks, chard stems, garlic and thyme, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks start to wilt and soften, about 5 minutes. Add the torn chard, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until just wilted, 2 minutes.
- Add the stock and heavy cream, and boil over high until thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Once the mixture is simmering, add the pasta to the pot of boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain pasta.
- Transfer chard mixture to the empty pasta pot. Stir in the cooked pasta, then sprinkle with the Parmesan, stirring vigorously to melt it into the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Divide among shallow bowls or plates. Sprinkle generously with the prepared bread crumbs, top with tarragon and grate fresh lemon zest on top. Serve immediately.
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