I <3 Chard

I am a big fan of dark bitter greens. While I was living in Guatemala, my host mom would make Acelga (Spanish for Chard) twice a day pretty much every day. And I was still sad when I took my last bite the night before I left. This was quite strange since I normally didn't like my dark greens. My mom (of the biological variety) would make Vietnamese canh (soup) with dark greens and I detested the stuff. Well, admittedly, my mother isn't a very good cook, but still.

And have now been converted to a dark green JUNKIE. This could very well be the healthiest kind of addiction there is. Dark greens are chock full of vitamins and calcium (which I can always use more of).

I had a very long day today. It involved 4 hours of work, class, and then a quest to find someone who could give my new key for my apartment (long story). I finally plopped down on my couch at 5:30pm. All I had eaten that day was some leftover Punjab Spinach and Potatoes. I devised this one pot Pasta sautee...thingy. (I make A LOT of those).

Pasta with Lemon and Chard
Serves 1

1 serving of Pasta (I usually make a handful and a half)

2 generous handfuls of Chard, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup water (or broth if you got it)

1 Lemon
Handful of Walnuts
Salt
Pepper
Chili Flakes

1. Boil water in a pot. When it boils, generously salt the water and add the pasta. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain.

2. Put Olive oil and chopped garlic into a pan. Sautee until garlic is soft. Add Chard and sautee altogether until wilted-looking. Once wilted greens are achieved, add water and cover for 3 minutes.

3. While waiting for chard, quickly toast some walnuts. (Toaster Ovens are so useful for this) They are easily burned so keep your eye out! When they are nice and toasty, chop them and set aside.

4. Remove cover from chard and continue sauteeing Chard until water evaporates. Test a leaf, if it's still tough add more water and cook longer.

5. When Chard is nice, dry and done. Add salt and stir. Add pasta. Toss pasta with Chard until nice and incorporated. Turn off heat.

6. Add juice of 1 lemon, a few dashes of chili flakes, and pepper. Stir to incorporate. Top off with chopped walnuts.

7. iBuen Provecho!

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Man, this stuff was so good. The lemon just brightens up the flavor of the greens and the nutty pasta. The chili flake adds a bit of bite to the entire dish and the walnuts are so toasty and sweet against everything else. The walnuts were so incredibly delicious! They were sort of a last minute addition. I had bought a bag of locally grown Walnuts at the farmer's market and they are so good. I just had to use them! I'm gonna get a grater so that i can add the zest of the lemon as well. I can't get enough lemon!