Tag Archives: chard

Pasta with Winter Squash and Chard

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Serves 6

Winter squash and greens create a winning combination — vibrant colors, soft textures and deep flavors. Choose pasta like oreccheitte (little ears in Italian), fusilli (little spindles) or gigli (lilies) that catch bits of the smooth vegetables in their nooks and crannies.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of peeled, cubed winter squash
  • 1 onion, cut into ¼ inch thick wedges
  • Olive oil
  • 1 bunch chard, stems removed
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Red pepper flakes
  • ¾ pound pasta
  • One large handful toasted walnuts
  • Salt and pepper
  • Freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 ° F. Toss squash and onions with enough olive oil to coat. Roast until tender, about 35 minutes. Turn once during cooking.
  2. Roughly chop chard leaves. Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chard, garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook until greens are wilted and tender. Turn off heat.
  3. About halfway through roasting cycle, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and a large pinch of salt. Cook al dente, then drain.
  4. Place roasted vegetable into skillet. Add pasta. Toss ingredients together, adding some extra virgin olive oil to moisten. Place in a serving dish and sprinkle with walnuts and cheese.

Indian Yellow Lentils (Dal) with Greens

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This is the Indian version of comfort food and a more nutritious and inexpensive dish is difficult to find. Serve with yogurt raita and rice for a complete meal.  You’ll find yellow mung dal at any Indian grocery and some high end specialty markets.  It’s important to pick over the dal before cooking to make sure there are no bits of grit or debris. This variety of dal is particularly mild and digestible.

The lentils are first cooked with water to create a soupy broth.  They are seasoned with a separately sautéed topping of spices before serving, called tarka.  In this case the tarka topping includes onions, tomatoes and leafy greens as well as spices.

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Middle Eastern Style Chickpeas with Greens

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Middle-Eastern Chickpeas with Spinach

This recipe found its inspiration, once upon a time, in the Moosewood Cookbook series, essential references for anyone who strives to reduce meat consumption, but demands a dish full of mouthwatering flavor.  You can adapt and substitute freely—try just about any green you have on hand, or a different bean like white cannellinis or dark red kidneys.  Or toss in a cubed carrot or other winter roots as you sauté the onions and peppers.  In summer months eggplant or zucchini would be a perfect addition.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 sweet bell pepper, seeded and cubed
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • pinch of saffron (optional)
  • 1 ½ cups chopped tomato (fresh or canned)
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • Salt
  • 1 bunch coarsely chopped greens, such as spinach, kale or chard
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Method:

  1. Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, add onion and cook soft, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add bell pepper, garlic and spices. Sauté for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently.  Add tomato and cook until tomato breaks up and becomes soft and most of its liquid has cooked off.
  3. Add chickpeas, about ¼ cup of water and one half teaspoon salt. Stir to combine.  Cook for 10 minutes, adding some water if mixture starts to stick to pan.
  4. If using spinach, turn off the heat and stir in the leaves, until just wilted.  If using more substantial greens such as kale or chard, cook for a few minutes over medium-low heat.  Add lemon juice and more salt to taste.
  5. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
  6. Serve with Middle Eastern flat bread, couscous or rice, for instance Persian Green Rice.

Easy Sautéed Greens

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This basic recipe works with all kinds of leafy greens (and thinking slightly outside the box, even chopped broccoli). Add some toasted pine nuts for serving if you like or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Fold into cooked grains like nutty Italian farro or earthy brown rice. Serve on top of pasta with shaved Parmesan or stir into a pot of cooked lentils such as soupy, Indian mung dal or chewy, French lentilles du Puy.

Ingredients:

  • Greens of choice, thoroughly rinsed, stems removed and roughly chopped into large pieces
  • Minced garlic to taste
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Method:

  1. Heat a skillet on medium and add olive oil to lightly coat the bottom. Add minced garlic and red pepper, if using, and sauté lightly for a few seconds.
  2. Add greens (it’s good if they have a bit of water on them from rinsing) and sauté until tender, stirring occasionally. Greens will cook down in volume – add uncooked leaves to pan in batches if they don’t fit all at once.
  3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Serve as is (see headnote for serving ideas), or toss in some rinsed and drained, canned cannellini beans during the last few minutes of cooking and another drizzle of olive oil before serving. Add a splash of high quality wine vinegar or lemon juice if you like.
  5. For an Asian inspired twist substitute bok choy stems and leaves, or other Asian greens. Sauté with some minced fresh ginger (along with garlic) in olive oil with a bit of toasted sesame oil. Add a dash of rice wine vinegar and soy sauce at the end of cooking.

Wheat Berry, Tomato and Fresh Greens Salad

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This salad is a great way to increase your family’s consumption of whole grains and fiber.  Raw wheat berries can be found in most natural food markets or specialty grocery stores.  You can substitute farro, barley or spelt if you prefer.  The cooked whole wheat kernels are nutty with a chewy texture that my children love.  There are many ways to vary this salad – try adding uncooked greens or chopped fresh herbs, vary the canned beans, or toss in almost any favorite seasonal cooked or raw vegetable.

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