Garden-Fresh Swiss Chard Pasta with Beans & Bacon
Submitted by sean
Discover a hearty one-pan pasta dish featuring garden-fresh Swiss chard—easy to grow yet underused. Sautéed stems and wilted leaves mingle with pasta, white beans, crispy bacon, garlic and rosemary (or oregano). Finished with Parmesan cheese for Italian flair.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
20 minREADY
35 minSwiss chard, with its vibrant deep-green leaves tasting much like spinach and crunchy stems offering a subtly sweet, beet-like earthiness (since the plants are cousins), shines in this comforting one-pan meal.
Harvesting fresh Swiss chard from your garden is a breeze—it’s a hardy, low-maintenance leafy vegetable that’s simple to cultivate but often underappreciated in everyday cooking.
This recipe puts it to great use by incorporating both the stems and leaves, pairing them with pasta and beans for a satisfying dish.
To amp up the savoriness, we stir in garlic, bacon, red pepper flakes, your choice of rosemary or oregano, and sharp Parmesan cheese, drawing on timeless Italian-inspired notes for depth and zest.
Ingredients
Directions
Fill a large pot with 4 quarts of water and bring it to a rolling boil. Stir in the rigatoni along with 1 tablespoon of salt, cooking while stirring now and then until the pasta is nearly al denté but still has a slight bite. Scoop out and reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water, then drain in a colander.
Using the same pot over medium heat, add the chopped bacon. Sauté, giving it an occasional stir, until the bacon turns crispy and golden, around 2 to 3 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and use a slotted spoon to move the bacon to a small dish, leaving the flavorful drippings behind.
Return the pot to medium heat and mix in the garlic, diced chard stems, red pepper flakes, rosemary (or oregano), and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Stir occasionally as it cooks until the stems start to tenderize, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Toss in the chard leaves and continue stirring until they soften and wilt down, roughly 1 minute more. Incorporate the beans, drained pasta, ½ cup of the reserved pasta water, and the grated cheese.
Keep stirring over the heat until the pasta reaches perfect al denté texture and the sauce clings lightly, 2 to 3 minutes; splash in more reserved water if it seems too thick.
Dish it into a serving bowl, top with the reserved crispy bacon, and pass additional cheese at the table.
Comments