Chard and ricotta pasta for Dylan
My little boy, Dylan, is obsessed with pasta, and this is one of his all-time favourites.
- Duration
- 20-30 mins
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
- 150g chard
- olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 unwaxed lemon
- 200g spaghetti
- 100g ricotta or vegan cheese
- whole nutmeg, for grating
Pull the chard leaves away from the stalks. Warm a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a deep frying pan over a medium heat. Finely shred the chard stalks and add them to the pan with the garlic and a pinch of salt. Allow the stalks to cook like this for a couple of minutes, then grate in the zest of the lemon. Cook for a further 3 minutes, until the stalks have lost their rawness and toughness.
Put a large pan of salted water on to boil and when it’s at a rolling boil, add the spaghetti and cook according to the packet instructions.
Back to the chard. Finely shred the leaves and add them to the pan of stalks. Spoon in a dash of pasta water (no more than about 3 tablespoons) to help the leaves steam and wilt as they cook.
Mix the ricotta with the juice of half the lemon, and season well with salt and pepper.
Drain the pasta, reserving a mugful of pasta water. Add the pasta, ricotta and reserved pasta water to the pan of chard and mix well. Finish with a good grating of nutmeg and serve in warm bowls.
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