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 A few weeks ago I had borrowed  books by Mario Batali and Mark Ladner's  Molto Gusto's" Easy Italian Cooking" from...

Swiss Chard Ragu With Penne Pasta : Learning From Mario Batali


 A few weeks ago I had borrowed  books by Mario Batali and Mark Ladner's Molto Gusto's" Easy Italian Cooking" from the library. I have watched Mario Batali cook so effortlessly and heard great reviews about food at his restaurants. So, in pursuit of learning to cook and learn a technique or two from this cook book, I tried this pasta recipe. It was pretty simple to make and I admit that, it is the best pasta that I have made so far. What did I learn from this recipe? To use pasta water and cold butter as base sauce for the pasta. I did add Italian seasoning to the recipe and not add the cheese that was suggested as we had allergies to deal with. In spite of it all, I was so proud of learning to make simple pasta taste delicious. 

Gadgets:

Cutting Board
Knife
Colander
Stock pot to make pasta
Frying Pan
Spatula
Laddle


Ingredients:
Serves 6
Onion - 1 big sliced
Swiss Chard - 1 bunch chopped
Cold Butter - 4 tbsp
Salt
Pepper
Penne pasta - 1 packet
Garlic Pods - 5
Olive Oil - 3 tbsp
Pasta Water - 1 cup plus more if you are reheating the pasta for later
Italian Seasoning - as per spice levels
Bread Crumbs/ Croutons/ Rusk  grated - 1/2 cup



Preparation:

1. Start to prepare pasta as per the instructions on the packet.

2. Heat a heavy pan with olive oil, when it warms up add sliced garlic, thinly sliced onions and cook them a little before adding the swiss chard. Add some salt, cover and let them cook until tender for 7 minutes.

3. Add pepper, butter and allow it to cook for a few minutes.

4. When the pasta is done drain and keep aside the pasta water. Pour 1/4 cup at a time to the swiss chard mix to create a sauce.

5. Toss in the pasta and 3/4 cup pasta water. Allow it to cook a little to blend in all the flavors.

6. Add Italian seasoning on top as per taste and garnish with grated croutons or toasted bread crumbs and serve hot.

15 comments:

  1. Looks yum and delicious.. lovely dish for a relaxing weekday dinner..:))
    Reva

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  2. this is nice one.. pasta water retained to make sauce.. i shall do this.. have a packet of penne lying with me!

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  3. Yummy space here...happy to follow u...
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    Shabbu's Tasty Kitchen

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  4. And we learn from you! Great recipe.

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  5. Yummy and good clicks :)
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  6. This looks delicious, somehow I haven't tried cooking with swiss chard or the other greens that u get here in the US..

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  7. pasta looks really delicious. nice recipe

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  8. Interesting and definitely a healthy ragu..Wonderful pasta dish.

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  9. wonderful preparation, adding swiss chard is interesting...i too prefer adding breadcrumbs to my pasta...
    Spicy Treats

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  10. Gr8 recipe n looks wonderful..

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  11. Wonderful clicks. Now this made me think of making pasta soon :)
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  12. Looks yum

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  13. i have bunch of pasta at home thinking what to do.. i will surely try this recipe.. ur new follower.. do stop by mine sometime..

    http://jopreet.blogspot.com/

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