Really quick and easy pasta sauce that brings out the rich flavour of swiss chard. Thanks goes to Riverford Organic veg boxes for the inspiration for this!
12oz (350g) swiss chard, thoroughly washed and roughly torn into pieces
2 small onions
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
4 fl oz (110ml) single cream
25g (1oz) parmesan cheese, finely grated
25g (1oz) pine nuts
salt and pepper
12oz pasta of your choice – I used farfalle.
Put some water in the bottom half of a steamer and bring it to the boil. Put the chard in the top half and steam for 10 minutes (if you’re using a saucepan rather than a steamer, don’t put any water in and just cook down the chard for 5-10 minutes over a medium heat). At the same time, put the pasta on to cook – you can put it in the bottom half of the steamer, or just heat up another pan of water to boiling point. The pasta will need to cook for about 12 minutes, until it’s al dente.
While the chard and pasta are cooking, chop the onions and garlic finely and saute in a deep frying pan over a gentle heat for about 10 minutes, until soft. When the chard is cooked, add it to the onion mixture and stir in the cream. Add the pine nuts and grated parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Cook the sauce for another minute or two until it’s bubbling, and then serve on top of the pasta.
