Chicken, White Bean and Greens Stew

In my attempt to cook more heart-healthy meals, (IYKYK), I found this recipe from The New York Times that sounded perfect to me. It uses cannellini beans and boneless, skinless chicken breasts, both of which are loaded with protein. The original recipe called for butter, but I used olive oil instead, and the flavor was outstanding. We didn't miss the butter at all. Make sure to season each component of the dish when you place it in the pot. Without the salt, pepper and rosemary, the dish could be on the bland side. While I used Swiss chard, (The QUEEN of greens and my favorite), feel free to use spinach, kale or escarole if you prefer. Serve with some good crusty Italian or French bread to dip into the stew.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

Chicken and White Bean Stew (adapted from The New York Times)

1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or "tenders"

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 large bunch of Swiss chard, finely chopped (use kale, escarole or spinach if you prefer), chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 14 oz. can chicken stock (or homemade)

1 15.5 oz. can cannellini beans

salt, pepper

a few tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary 

Place the olive oil in a pan and add the chicken pieces, seasoning them with salt and pepper. Saute them on both sides, until you get a nice golden color. Cook with the lid on for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove to a plate.

Add the onion to the pan and saute until they are golden. Add another tablespoon of olive oil if the pot is too dry. Add the chopped Swiss chard and cook for a few minutes with the onion until it starts to wilt. Add the chicken stock and the beans and season with more salt, pepper and the rosemary.

Shred the chicken then add to the pot and cook for another five to ten minutes, until the Swiss chard is fully cooked. Mash some of the beans with a fork, then serve with some good crusty bread.

 

Fazzoletti (Pasta Handkerchiefs) stuffed with ricotta and Swiss chard

 

OK, now don't turn away because you don't want to make your own pasta. You can buy fresh lasagna sheets at many supermarkets (although they won't be spinach pasta, most likely) and present your family and friends with this delicious pasta dish. You can even make it ahead of time and keep it in the fridge ready to bake at the last minute. Think of this as free-formed ravioli that are much easier to make and just as delicious. I stuffed them with ricotta and Swiss chard, but you could just as easily use spinach, or even forgo the greens and make a strictly ricotta filling. But if you go the Swiss chard route, you'll roughly chop the greens, then saute them in a little olive oil until cooked through - just a few minutes should do it.

Make the spinach pasta (or buy fresh lasagna sheets) and cut into  four inch squares. It's ok if they aren't perfectly square, or if they're a bit smaller or a bit larger.

Then briefly cook them in boiling water, and drain on paper towels.

Mix the filling ingredients - the cooked Swiss chard, ricotta, parmesan cheese, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Dab a bit in the center of each pasta square.

Fold over into a "sort of" triangular shape.

Place into a buttered shallow baking pan. It's ok if they touch a bit but try not to overlap them. Use a second pan to accommodate the rest of the fazzoletti.

Place a slice of mozzarella on top, sprinkle with parmesan, chopped walnuts and finish with a sage leaf.

Bake for about 20 minutes, and serve. (I had to remove and replace the sage leaves because they got too dark in the oven.)

Slice into this goodness and enjoy. Drooling allowed.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what’s cooking in Ciao Chow Linda’s kitchen each day (and more)

Fazzoletti (Pasta Handkerchiefs) stuffed with ricotta and Swiss chard

(Makes about 12 stuffed fazzoletti)

For the Pasta:

(You may get more pasta than you need for this recipe, so just cut the rest into fettuccine and use another day.)

1 10-ounce box frozen spinach

2 cups 00 flour

2 eggs

pinch of salt 

For the Filling:

1 cup ricotta, preferably drained overnight

1 small bunch of Swiss chard, chopped roughly and sautéed in 2 tablespoons olive oil until soft

1 egg

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

a few gratings of nutmeg

salt, pepper

To Finish:

1 8 oz. ball of fresh mozzarella

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

fresh sage leaves

Instructions:

1. FOR THE PASTA:
2. Drain the spinach thoroughly, squeezing out all the water you can with your hands.
3. Then press it with paper towels to get out any remaining water.
4. Place the spinach and the two eggs into the food processor to break down the spinach.
5. Start adding the flour.
6. You may need as little as a cup and a quarter of flour.
7. It’s easy to add more flour later, but much harder to work the dough if you place too much flour into the food processor.
8. Add just enough flour and process until the dough comes together into a ball.
9. It will be sticky.
10. Place the dough onto a wooden work surface, add more flour until the stickiness disappears and the dough seems more “homogenized” and softer.
11. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a bowl and let it sit for at least 1/2 hour.
12. Roll the pasta into sheets, then cut into approximately 4" squares.
13. Boil the squares until al dente, then place on paper towels to drain before stuffing.

FOR THE FILLING:

Mix the ricotta with the cooked Swiss chard and the rest of the filling ingredients.

ASSEMBLY:

Dab a hefty tablespoonful of the filling into the center of each pasta square. Fold one edge toward the opposite edge, forming a sort of triangle.

Place each triangle into a buttered baking dish, trying not to overlap them. There should be just one layer. Use more baking dishes if needed.

Cover each triangle with a small slice of fresh mozzarella, some walnuts and a sage leaf.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

If necessary, remove the sage leaf and replace it with a fresh one before serving.

Vegetable and Swiss Chard Stalk Soup and a Giveaway

Please don’t tell me you’re one of those people who buys Swiss chard and throws away the stalks. They’re equally as delicious as the leaves, but many people are in a quandry knowing what to do with them. They make great fritters, something my mom made when we were growing up, (recipe here), but another way to use them is in a vegetable soup — perfect for the fall weather that is descending on us here in the Northeastern U.S.

These are the stalks from some multi-colored Swiss chard my father grew in his garden. Just chop them up into small bits, along with the leaves and follow the recipe below.

After you’ve sautéed the onion and garlic, add all the rest of the ingredients to the pot and let it simmer for about a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. I also added in some fresh corn, since it was summer when I took these photos and corn flavor was at its peak. Add more liquid (water or chicken stock) to the pot if necessary.

Grate some parmesan cheese over the top and serve with some hearty toasted bread that’s been drizzled with olive oil and salt. Enjoy a healthy and delicious bowl of soup.

Click here to connect with me on Instagram and find out what Ciao Chow Linda is up to in the kitchen (and other places too.

Vegetable and Swiss Chard Stalk Soup 

printable recipe here

Author: Ciao Chow Linda

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch of Swiss chard, stalks diced and leaves roughly chopped
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup of fresh tomatoes, diced (or one small can diced tomatoes)
• 1 small can cannellini beans
• 1 cup of green beans, cut into small pieces
• kernels from two ears of corn (optional)
• 6 cups either water or chicken broth, or a combination of both
• a parmesan cheese rind
• a nice handful of parsley, minced
• salt, pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Pour the olive oil into a large pot and saute the onion and garlic until soft on low temperature. Do not let them brown. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the green beans and the parsley, and let everything cook together for about 1/2 hour. If you have fresh corn, add the kernels from that too. Add more water or chicken broth if the soup is too thick.
2. Add the green beans and cook until they are tender, about ten minutes.
3. Stir the parsley at the last minute before serving, to get a fresher taste.
4. Remove the parmesan cheese rind, and serve with grated parmesan and Italian bread that’s been toasted and smeared with olive oil and salt.

3.5.3251

 

 

 

 

 

 

Milena's Sweet Swiss Chard Tart

Regular readers of this blog know that I'm part of a group of women who meet once a week to chit-chat in Italian. The meeting takes place at a different home each week and while we converse in Italian about anything and everything - we also eat. And every one of the women is a good cook, so we look forward to our gatherings for several reasons.

 I'm not able to attend each week, but when the group meets at Milena's house, I'm really  loathe to miss it.

Milena, who hails from the region of Liguria, is one of the best cooks in the group, and not surprisingly, taught cooking classes for a while. Whenever the group meets at her house, she makes an array of different dishes to tempt us, some tried and true, and some new ones too.

This tart is one of the offerings (among many) that she served recently at her home. The recipe contains a bit of sugar, so you could serve it as dessert, but it's not overly sweet, so if you're yearning for a more traditional dessert, better stick to chocolate cake.

 In that case, it would be equally delicious served with a glass of wine as an appetizer too.

**************

Join us for a writing retreat in September in one of the most beautiful places on Earth - along the shores of Italy's Lake Como. Click here for more information.

Sweet Swiss Chard Tart

printable recipe here

3 cups flour (minus three Tablespoons) or 300 grams flour 

1/2 cup butter or 125 grams butter

about two bunches of Swiss chard without the stems, or 500 grams Swiss chard

3/4 cup sugar or 150 grams sugar

1/3 cup pine nuts or 50 grams pine nuts

1/4 cup or 30 grams white raisins

2 eggs, separated

salt, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon, to taste

On a wooden board (or a bowl), make a well with the flour and add 3/4 of the butter (cut into small pieces), half the sugar, a pinch of salt and the egg yolks.

Incorporate all the ingredients until you have a soft and smooth dough. Cover it with a dishtowel and let it rest for two hours in a warm place.

Put the raisins in a bowl with some tepid water and let them soak in the water for at least 15 minutes.

Wash the Swiss chard, removing the stems, and place it in a covered pot with only the water that remains on the leaves. Let it cook on low heat until softened. Remove from the pot, squeeze out any remaining water, then give the swiss chard a rough chop. Add the remaining butter to a saucepan, put the Swiss chard back in, and stir, seasoning with salt and pepper.

Put the chopped Swiss chard in a bowl and mix with the remaining sugar, pine nuts, raisins (that have been drained), a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of cinnamon.

Divide the dough in half and roll out each half to fit a 9" pie pan that has been buttered and floured. Place one piece of the dough into the pie pan, cover it with the Swiss chard mixture, then place the other piece of dough on the top, closing the borders with a pinch.

Beat a little of the egg white and brush over the top of the  tart. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden.

Lemon Spaghetti with Swiss Chard

I don't live in a warm place like California or Florida or Arizona (or the Amalfi coast-sigh), where people are lucky enough to pluck fresh lemons from backyard trees. I have to rely on the supermarket variety. But with a box of pasta and organic lemons from a high quality grocery store, you can still serve a flavorful and easy-to-make pasta dish that will earn you raves. Add some Swiss chard to the mix and you'll also garner a few kudos for the extra nutrition factor.

In support of the Princeton School Gardens Cooperative (PSGC), a wonderful group that fosters garden and food-based education in our local schools and community, I'm posting this recipe with chard for their "Garden State on Your Plate" program. Chard will debut in chef-led tastings at the Princeton elementary schools this fall, with more farm products to follow. PSGC has its own website (http://www.psgcoop.org), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/psgcoop.org), Twitter (https://twitter.com/psgcooporg) and Instagram account (psgcoop), so hop on over and cheer them on.

But don't forget to give this recipe a try. It comes together in practically the time it takes to boil pasta, and the fresh flavors will have you and your family asking for seconds. Maybe even planning a trip to Sorrento!

Lemon Spaghetti with Swiss Chard

printable recipe here



1/4 cup minced sweet onion (like Vidalia)

6 - 10 large Swiss chard leaves, roughly chopped

2 T. olive oil

salt, pepper



grated zest and juice of 3 lemons

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 pound spaghetti or linguini

1 1/2 cups - 2 cups of pasta water

more parmesan cheese for serving

fresh basil, optional



Sauté the onion in the olive oil until limp, then add the Swiss chard and sauté for a few minutes until wilted. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.



Grate the zest of three lemons and squeeze the juice from them, discarding the seeds.

Bring the water to boil in a large pot and add a generous amount of salt. Cook the pasta al dente, especially since you'll add it back into the pot for a few minutes with the sauce. Drain the pasta, but reserve about 2 cups of the pasta water.

Set aside the pasta while you make the sauce.

It takes only a few minutes so don't worry about the pasta getting cold.

Use the same pot in which you boiled the pasta and put in the lemon zest, olive oil, heavy cream and about 1 cup of the pasta water. Bring to a boil over high heat, add the pasta to the pot and lower the heat to medium, all the while stirring everything together. Add the lemon juice, the parmesan cheese, and the cooked Swiss chard and stir vigorously. Keep adding more pasta water until there is enough sauce. Some people like the sauce to be very loose, so if you're one of them, add more of the pasta water and keep stirring. Taste and season with more salt and pepper to your liking. Serve with additional parmesan cheese. If you have fresh basil, add a generous sprinkling of that at the end too.

Baked Tomatoes Stuffed with Quinoa

It's the end of summer, and my vegetable garden looks as tattered as a scarecrow's shirt, but it's still providing me with those end-of-the-season tomatoes. Some of them went into plastic bags whole (yes, whole!) and are stashed in the freezer, awaiting soups and stews I'll get to this fall and winter. If you've never tried it, it's simple. You can take out one or two from the plastic bag, run under cold water and the tomato will be simple to peel. Cut into chunks, or leave it whole, and toss into a recipe for some extra color and flavor. 

But before you stash all those late summer tomatoes into the freezer, give this recipe a try. 

Tomatoes stuffed with rice are a classic Roman dish, and my friend Frank has a great recipe for them, on his blog, Memorie Di Angelina.  This recipe however, uses quinoa instead of rice. 

Start out by slicing off the top of the tomato, then scooping out the interior. (Save that pulp and juice and strain it to use later.)

Mix the cooled quinoa and swiss chard (or spinach or kale if you prefer) with cheese and seasonings.

Stuff the tomatoes, and pour a little of the tomato water in the dish.

Sprinkle with a little more of the cheese and bake.

Baked Tomatoes Stuffed with Quinoa

printable recipe here



8 medium size tomatoes

1/2 cup quinoa

1 cup water

1 T. olive oil

1/4 cup onion, minced

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 heaping cup swiss chard (or spinach), roughly chopped

parsley, basil, minced

salt, pepper

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup asiago cheese

olive oil for drizzling



Scoop out the inside of the tomatoes and set aside in a colander, over a bowl. Press out the liquid, tossing aside the seeds and pulp (This part is optional, but I like to surround the tomatoes with the tomato water when I cook them.) Sprinkle some salt on the inside of the emptied-out tomatoes and turn them upside down over some paper towels to drain.



Cook the quinoa by adding it to the water and let it come to a boil.  Let it come to a simmer, cover and let it cook until the water is absorbed, about 10 to 15 minutes. Let it cool slightly. In the olive oil, sauté the onion until translucent, then add the garlic clove and swiss chard. Sauté until swiss chard is wilted. Add the seasonings. Mix the parmesan and asiago cheese together in a bowl, and set aside about 1/3 cup to sprinkle on the top when you put the tomatoes in the oven. Add the other 2/3 cup to the quinoa mixture.

Place the stuffed tomatoes in an ovenproof baking dish and top with the 1/3 cup cheese. Optional: Surround with 1/2 cup tomato water. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake at 425 degrees 1/2 hour or until top is browned. If it gets browned too quickly, lower the temperature to 400 degrees.

Making Corzetti with Dad

It's pasta time with Dad again - this time with corzetti - beautiful round disks of dough made using a hand carved wooden implement created by Artisanal Pasta Tools in Sonoma California. The one I used has a lovely design of clusters of grapes, but there are many patterns to choose from.  Mine arrived in the mail one day, totally unexpected, as a gift from my friend and fellow blogger - "corzetti queen" Adri Barr Crocetti. She writes a fabulous food blog, loaded with great recipes and thorough research on Italian food.  Her beautiful photos are always so artfully composed and expertly shot. 

She has written exhaustively about corzetti and you can find her posts about them by clicking here.

As soon as I showed my father this nifty tool, he was on board to make pasta with me. Regular readers of my blog know that my 92-year old dad loves to cook, especially pasta. We've made bigoli together (click here) , orecchiette (click here) and lots of other foods too.

 I arrived at his house and he was ready to go - mixing the dough on the counter and armed with a recipe to dress the pasta.

We cut the disks with one side of the form.

Then flipped the wooden implement to insert the disk and press down hard to make sure we got a good imprint.

Lined up on a cookie sheet, they reminded me of Christmas tree ornaments. Hey, maybe that's an idea for the future - poke a hole in the top, let them dry and give them a coat of some clear preservative.

Here's a closer view. They are like little works of art.

Corzetti originated in Genoa, a city on the Mediterranean in the region of Liguria. So it seemed fitting that we served them with some seafood - scallops and swiss chard, with some saffron.

 My dad found this recipe in an old issue of La Cucina Italiana. Unfortunately, for us Americans, the company stopped producing the U.S. edition. You can't even access the online version, so sadly we've all lost a great resource of recipes. If you've got your old issues lying about the house, hang onto them.

"Butta la pasta" is a commonly heard Italian expression, meaning literally "throw the pasta." As the sauce cooked, (and it took only a few minutes), it was time for us to throw the corzetti into the water.

We cooked them al dente, and added them to the sauce pan to swirl in the juices and meld the flavors.

And then it was time to eat. 

It's a great recipe any time of the year, but for you Catholics, it's especially apropos for any one of these meatless Fridays during Lent.

Since I've introduced you to my dad over the years, but never to his better half, I thought I'd throw in a photo of his wife Rose - a sweet, lovely woman who lets him (and me) have the run of her kitchen whenever he wants.  We all had a fun day together making corzetti and plenty of memories too.

Corzetti with Swiss Chard and Scallops

If you can't find dried corzetti in the store and want to make your own, here's the recipe we used. But you could use any shape pasta here - from rigatoni to spaghetti.



We used a simple pasta recipe of two cups flour and two extra large eggs, mixing the ingredients together, kneading the dough and letting it rest, before rolling out the dough and cutting the corzetti disks. If the dough is too dry, add a little water.



printable recipe here

From "La Cucina Italiana"



1 pound sea scallops

fine sea salt

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 medium shallots, thinly sliced

1 pound Swiss chard, center ribs removed and leaves coarsely chopped

1/4 cup vegetable broth

1/8 t. crumbled saffron threads

1 T. unsalted butter

1 pound fresh corzetti or dried corzetti

freshly ground white pepper (optional)



Cut scallops into quarters; set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat; add shallots, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots just begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add chard in batches, then add broth, 1/4 t. salt and saffron; cook, stirring until greens are just wilted.

Add scallops to skillet, tucking pieces among greens; gently simmer, turning scallops occasionally, until scallops are just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Add butter and gently stir until melted, then remove skillet from heat and cover to keep warm.

Cook pasta in the boiling water until just tender - 6 to 7 minutes or until al dente. Drain. Combine the pasta with the scallops and chard in the pan. Sprinkle with pepper if desired.

Ricotta and Swiss Chard Gnocchi

 My dad never used to cook. He didn't need to - my mom was well known for her prowess in the kitchen. But when she died in 1986, cooking became a necessity for my dad - he isn't one for take-out food. Even though he's been remarried for 20 years, his culinary skills have grown along with his passion for cooking. On a recent visit, he prepared these gnocchi with a red pepper sauce and I was enchanted - they're light enough to practically melt in your mouth and they're a good way to use up some of the remaining swiss chard in my garden. The red pepper sauce is delicious and a little unexpected too.

 Don't like red pepper sauce? They're also divine with a simple melted butter and sage sauce. They're easy to make too. All you do is mix a few ingredients in a bowl and shape into ovals. These are sometimes called "gnudi" - the Italian word meaning "naked" since they're like a ravioli filling without the dough. 

Warning - I used swiss chard that had red stems and the gnocchi took on a pinkish shade. Upon cooking, they turn a little greyish - not the most attractive food color.

 But it doesn't matter because they're as light as a cloud and the red pepper sauce adds a beautiful color to the dish. Besides, you can cover it all with a sprinkle with parmesan - something I forgot to do it for the photos.

Ricotta and Swiss Chard Gnocchi or "gnudi"





printable recipe here





1 pound ricotta

1/2 cup flour, or more if needed

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 large egg

a bunch of swiss chard leaves (about a dozen large leaves, or more if they're small - you could also use spinach)

1/4 tsp. salt, pepper to taste

a grating of fresh nutmeg



Drain the ricotta overnight to get rid of excess water. Cook the swiss chard leaves in boiling water, drain and let cool. Squeeze out excess water and chop finely. Mix the ricotta, swiss chard and remaining ingredients in a bowl. Add more flour if necessary, but the least amount of flour you add, the lighter the gnocchi will be. Dust your hands with flour and roll into oblong shapes. Cook in a pot with ample water, salted until the gnocchi rise to the surface. Drain.



Serve with melted butter and sage, sprinkled with parmesan cheese, or with red pepper sauce - recipe below.





Red Pepper Sauce

1 shallot

1 garlic clove, minced

2 T. olive oil

8 oz. roasted red peppers - preferably homemade

1/3 c. white wine

1/3 c. chicken broth

salt, pepper to taste



Cook the shallot and garlic clove in the olive oil. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for five minutes, then put in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour back into saucepan to heat and serve with the gnocchi.