Spaghetti with Swiss chard

Last weekend at the farmer's market, I got some delicious Swiss chard. I'm not really sure why I bought it, as I have never made anything with Swiss chard before and I didn't even know what to do with it.

Maybe it was the delicious-looking, bright pink stems combined with the dark greens, but I had to have them. At that point, I had to figure out what to do with them.

I think Ina Garten has a recipe having something to do with Swiss chard, but I have five of her books and my mind is significantly impaired at the moment due to bar studies. Thus, I searched Food Network's website and found this website from Giada de Laurentis: Spaghetti with Swiss chard.

The Swiss chard gets chopped up and put into the sauce. First you sweat the onions in olive oil, then wilt the greens. Look at how much greens went in:


Then you mix in crushed tomatoes, garlic, and white wine. (Giada calls for chopped tomatoes, but I like my tomatoes a little thinner.) Then you top whole wheat spaghetti with the tomato-chard sauce, some Kalamata olives, toasted pine nuts, and cheese. (Again, I substituted Parmesan-Romano for Pecorino - so sue me, Giada.)


I really liked it - the chard wasn't overpowering, but it gave a really deep flavor to the tomatoes. (And I'm not even the biggest tomato fan.) I think I will give Giada the benefit of the doubt and get some Pecorino cheese next time. I think it would go well with the toasted pine nuts.

Guess I'll have to pick up some more beautiful and healthy Swiss chard at a farmer's market later this year!