Caroline, Chicago, IL
What a beautiful, springy, green dish! Driven by a little leftover ricotta cheese and swiss chard that continues to turn up in my weekly produce delivery, I adapted a pasta recipe from one of the Moosewood cookbooks and came up up with this. The thick, fresh papperadelle held the sauce perfectly and the toasted nuts added texture. Seeing green pasta has me excited for fresh pesto! Summer is still a long way off but in just a few months, my basil plants will be planted on the back deck.
Final mounds of snow are melting. The sun is visiting more often. Birds are fluttery and feisty… spring is here!!!
Papperadelle with Ricotta, Swiss Chard, Walnuts and Parmesan
Makes 4 medium portions
1 bunch Swiss chard, stalks removed (about 4 cups chopped)
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
8 oz. fresh papperadelle pasta (fettucini or bowties would also be good)
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
grated fresh parmesan cheese
Bring water to a boil. While water is getting hot, wash and rinse the swiss chard. Chop in shreds. Saute the garlic in the olive oil for a minute. Add the damp greens and stir until just wilted but still bright green. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. In a blender or food processor, puree with cooked greens with the ricotta until smooth. Add a few extra teaspoons of olive oil if needed to smooth out the sauce. Add more salt if needed to bring out the flavors of the greens.
Cook pasta according to directions. Drain and rinse when cooked. Toss pasta with the sauce. Use tongs to place a pile of pasta on a plate. Sprinkle with toasted walnuts and cheese.
The Moosewood recipe also includes a bunch of watercress greens and a total of 3/4 cup ricotta. Experiment with greens of your choice!
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March 24th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
ricotta and pasta is my new fav go-to pasta dish. it’s very light yet creamy. It’s definitely a spring dish
March 24th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I have been adding ricotta to many of my pasta dishes lately. I also like to add all kinds of greens - your recipe looks great.
March 25th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Yum. Every inch my kind of pasta.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:13 am
[…] This week’s recipe takes good use of all of those greens we’ve been getting. It’s adapted from the link over here. It, in turn, was adapted from a recipe that was adapted from a Moosewood recipe. Phew! The basics are all the same with little twists to make it our own along the way. This is going to be a new stand-by in my house. I made up a TON using all of the chard and spinach from last week’s farm share and when it was cool, froze it in 1-2 cup servings in ziplocks for future use in lasagna or on pasta or as a vital green addition to a soup someday. But, oh, it sure is tasty on it’s own with just pasta and some Parmesan or Romano grated on top. Yum! […]