Happy Friday! It has been awhile since I have posted a recipe and I think it is overdue. It has felt like Spring in Austin for a while already. The temperature been in the mid 70s to mid 80s for close to a month, which is crazy! Because it has been so warm, I have already moved from wintery foods to fresh, Spring meals. I do realize that it is still winter for some though, so this dish is a good compromise. Fresh and lemony, but still a nice comforting meal for those of you that are still dealing with the cold.
I got some beautiful chard in my CSA box and it was wonderful in this pasta, but spinach or kale would probably be equally as delicious! We had this as a main course, but it would be great as a side dish as well.
Ingredients
Serves 2-3 as a main dish
- 2 cups Orecchiette Pasta (uncooked)
- 4 cups Roughly Chopped Chard
- 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 Garlic Cloves, Halved Vertically
- 1/4 cup Pasta Water (reserved from cooking orecchiette)
- 1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
- 1/4 cup Chopped Pecans
- 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
-
Parmesan, Pecan Crumble:
Directions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Make parmesan, pecan crumble (see below) and set aside
- Once boiling, cook pasta until it is al dente (9-11 minutes). Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water before straining.
- While pasta is cooking, bring the olive oil and garlic to medium heat in a large skillet and cook (stirring constantly) until garlic starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Once garlic is slightly brown, remove it and discard (you are just using it to flavor the oil).
- Add lemon juice and zest to the olive oil.
- Add the chopped chard into the skillet and stir until just wilted.
- Add strained pasta and the 1/4 c pasta water to the skillet and stir to combine.
- Top with the crumble and serve.
- Parmesan, Pecan Crumble:
- Mix together all of the crumble ingredients
- Heat in a (dry) skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until parmesan melts and the crumble turns a golden brown
