Organic Recipe Friday: Pasta w/ Chard, Beets, Ricotta & More!

Seeking Inspiration

Last weekend, I went a little crazy at the farmers’ market. I bought chard, mesclun, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic, carrots, summer squash, peaches and cherries. Plus, I had beets, an onion, purple green beans and other veggies from my community supported agriculture share at home. I was set for lots of salads for lunch but wanted something more substantial for dinner. I needed a plan for the chard, tomatoes and beets.

I enjoy improvising in the kitchen but I also like finding a recipe and making a bunch of modifications. After consulting many of my cookbooks and Epicurious, I turned to the New York Times’ “Recipes for Health” and found what I was looking for: Lasagna With Chard, Tomato Sauce and Ricotta.

As the recipe called for fresh ricotta, I searched for a Thursday farmers’ market and learned about the Penn Quarter location for FRESHFARM Markets. I tasted a sample of ricotta vaniglia (vanilla!) and was blown away. Sure, most people would use it only for desserts but I like sweet food, and this stuff was too delicious to resist. Then I saw some gorgeous loaves of bread and bought a massive quarter-loaf of pane Pugliese, a rustic Italian bread. Home I went.

The recipe that follows is based on the New York Times recipe but with my modifications and tips. As always, feel free to omit what you can’t get and add what you have. You can prepare most of this ahead of time, invite some friends to dinner (one of them just might bring an amazing bread) and put this in the oven.

Pasta With Chard, Beets, Ricotta and More

Serves 6

• 1 large bunch Swiss chard (12-15 leaves)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• Several fresh basil leaves
• 1 medium or 2 small beets (they add a beautiful color to the finished dish)
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh peas (these were on hand)
• Ground pepper
• 1/2 pound chunky pasta (e.g. rotini or fusilli)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese (try vanilla if you’re feeling experimental)
• 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375. Wash and dry beet(s), wrap in aluminum foil and put in the oven. They will be soft in about an hour, and the skin will come off fairly easily. If you can do this ahead, that will save some time. When cooled, peel and chop into half-inch cubes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and fill a bowl with ice water. Heat oil in a wide pan or wok. Sauté chopped onion. Cook until it softens and add garlic.

While onion is cooking, cut an X on the bottom of each tomato and drop three at a time into boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove quickly and drop in ice water to cool for a minute. Skins should slip off easily. Cut along the equator of each tomato, remove seeds and chop. Add to onions and garlic. Add whole basil leaves and chopped beets (OK to add later if still cooling). After a few minutes, add peas. Allow sauce to simmer and cook 15 to 25 minutes to reduce liquid in pan. Add ground pepper.

If chard is limp, immerse in a bowl of ice water for a couple of minutes. Put whole leaves in boiling water and remove after one minute. Leaves should still be bright green. Plunge leaves into ice water. Remove and squeeze out excess water. Slice stems (half-inch) and chop leaves coarsely. When tomato sauce is thick, remove from heat and stir in chard (mix well).

Cook pasta, drain and put in bowl that previously held ice water. Mix in ricotta well. Add sauce and mix well. Oil a baking dish (mine was 8×8 and just big enough). Dump in pasta mixture. Top with grated Parmesan. Bake 30 minutes, keeping an eye on surface to make sure it doesn’t brown too much (cover with foil, if necessary). Let cool for five minutes and serve to eager guests.

Photo Credit: The Author, Gaby Gollub