Pasta with Swiss chard and breadcrumbs

I promise this will be the last post with Swiss chard.*


I admit my standards are high - I do like to be amazed with my meals, even an ordinary weeknight dinner, and I can get disappointed when it satiates just my hunger, not my appetite. But when I was preparing this meal, I had fairly low expectations - I just wanted a way to use up some of the Swiss chard that I keep buying.

I could have gone with the red pepper, sausage, chard saute that I made a few weeks ago which did amaze me, but I wanted to try something a little different.

Actually, I just didn't want to go to the store and buy any sausage. There, I said it.



But seriously, I saw this pasta with caramelized onion, Swiss chard, and garlicky bread crumbs recipe from the Times and thought it was pretty straightforward. I put a pot of water on to boil and in a separate pan, quickly sauteed some panko breadcrumbs and garlic in a little olive oil. I also added a little dried oregano, crushed red pepper and salt to the breadcrumbs. Then I set this aside in a small bowl, wiped out the pan and started to saute some onions and Swiss chard stalks with a little anchovy paste.


After this mixture softened, I added some Swiss chard leaves that I had chopped. I added a little of the pasta cooking water as I went along to de-glaze the pan and to help cook the Swiss chard.


I added the cooked noodles, in this case Trader Joe's whole wheat spaghetti. Gave everything a toss with salt and pepper to taste...


Then topped with the breadcrumbs and a little Pecorino. So good! Anchovy paste added great flavor to already delicious Swiss chard, and the garlicky breadcrumbs added a yummy contrast to the entire dish. I honestly cannot wait to make more of this.

*I'm totally crossing my fingers behind my back.