Wood Duck Farm

February 19th, 2012   

 Everyone received a bunch or two of Swiss Chard this week; so what to do now?   Well if they are still in your frig, you need to get busy as they only have a shelf life or a week or so. I have read where you can freeze them, but I think they would be better to include in a meal, such as a quiche' etc, and then freeze if necessary.  I found the pasta recipe directly to be pretty fast. I enjoy goat cheese, but I would guess that Parmesan or Feta would provide good substitutes. Vegan? Perhaps add some mushrooms?  Further below Lea, one of our ClearLake area members sent us a few desirable ideas/recipes as well to share.       photo by Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

When making this easy pasta, be sure to cut the sweet bell peppers into very small dice; that way, they'll lodge in the hollows of the orecchiette, along with the chard and goat cheese.

3/4 pound Swiss chard (1 bunch), stemmed and washed in two changes of water

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 red bell peppers, cut in small dice

Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste), minced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram

3/4 pound orecchiette

2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)

1. Begin heating a large pot of water while you stem and wash the chard. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water in the pot comes to a boil, salt generously and add the chard. Blanch the chard leaves for one to two minutes until tender. Using a skimmer or a slotted spoon, transfer the chard to a bowl of ice water, then drain and squeeze out excess water. Chop medium-fine. Keep the pot of water at a simmer.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet, and add the bell peppers and the red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, until tender, five to eight minutes. Add the garlic and salt to taste, and stir for half a minute. Then stir in the chopped chard and the marjoram. Stir together for a few seconds, then turn the heat to very low.

3. Bring the water in the pasta pot back to a boil, and add the orecchiette. Cook al dente, following the timing instructions on the package. Add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the pan with the chard and peppers. Stir in the goat cheese. Drain the pasta, transfer to the pan and toss with the chard, pepper and goat cheese mixture. Serve hot.

Yield: Serves four.

Advance preparation: You can make this through Step 2 several hours before cooking the pasta. The pepper and chard mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days and reheated.

Swiss Chard Recipe Links from Lea:    

IN YOUR SHARES THIS COMING WEEK:  strawberries, sugar snap peas, brussel's sprouts, radishes and more.