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30 - Minute Dinner, Comfort Food, Cooking For a Crowd, Easy Entertaining, Kid Friendly, Make Ahead, One-Dish Meal, Pasta, Side Dishes, Vegetarian Main Meals May 5, 2012

Pasta Bloghop: Swiss Chard and Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Pasta Bloghop- Swiss Chard and Lemon Ricotta Pasta: The Wimpy Vegetarian

 

Have you ever thought about the words we borrow from food and cooking to express ourselves in general life? I had some fun with it this morning…

Let’s say some big cheese at work chews you out over being a couch potato because you sit around the office all day, happy as a clam.  Adding icing to the cake he says you cherry-pick what you want to work on, your ideas are half-baked, and you’re as nutty as fruitcake. Well if that doesn’t just take the cake, you think. A fine kettle of fish indeed. It feels unfair because he’s citing an incident that is like comparing apples to oranges! You now realize you’ve put all your eggs in one basket by buttering up a bad egg at work you can’t trust. The truth is you’re a single mom to a child who (although it may sound a little cheesy) is the apple of your eye, and the one in the family bringing home the bacon.  You’ve re-entered the work force after a long time at home, and the bread and butter work you’re used to, has gone away. This work is not a piece of cake. It’s difficult and you feel like a fish out of water half the time. You feel yourself getting steamed, and start to simmer.  Suddenly you’re boiling mad, roiling, boiling over. As you vent, you hear a co-worker say ‘She’s in the frying pan now’, and the incident is fuel for gossip and becomes a hot potato in the office. By mid-afternoon you’re feeling pretty fried. Some egg you on, which smells a little fishy, but others ask you to put a lid on it, or to just chill, cautioning you to not jump from the frying pan into the fire. You hold your ground and argue back that sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. Coworkers carefully walk on eggshells around you. After a while, a long while, you’re finally feeling cool as a cucumber. You realize there’s nothing to be gained by stewing in your own juices, crying over spilt milk, or having sour grapes over it all. A sudden epiphany; this work is just not your cup of tea. It’s time to go. Frankly you have bigger fish to fry.

Swiss Chard and Lemon Ricotta Pasta

     by Susan Pridmore

     Prep Time: 10 minutes

     Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 cups raw Swiss chard, sliced (including the stems)
  • 2 handfuls dried spaghetti noodles
  • 2 strips bacon, cut into 1/4″ slices or lardons (optional)
  • 1/2 large shallot, minced
  • olive oil as needed
  • 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
  • 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
  • zest from 1/2 lemon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
  • Pinch dried red pepper flakes

Instructions

Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Blanch the Swiss chard for 5 minutes. Scoop out the chard, and drain well, squeezing out as much of the water as possible. Chop again and set aside.

Keep the pot of water boiling, and add the spaghetti noodles. Follow the directions on the packet for making the spaghetti. Drain and set aside, retaining about 1 cup of liquid from cooking the noodles.

Fry bacon until just crispy. Add the shallot and saute until soft, adding olive oil if needed.

Add the Swiss chard and toss well to break up the chard clumps.

Combine the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses in a small bowl, and add the lemon zest, salt, and red pepper flakes. Add to the Swiss chard mixture in the saute pan and mix well.

Add cooked spaghetti, and some of the pasta water as needed.

Serve warm.

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This month’s Bloghop is Pasta, so you’ll be seeing lots of posts this month saying Pasta Bloghop, and Pasta Love. My co-hosts are listed below, so please go by their sites to see what they’re doing with pasta this weekend. And feel free to add any pasta dish you make and post this month using the below linky tool. Don’t forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #pastalove event! The twitter hashtag is #pastalove :) . Pastas of vegetable ‘ribbons’ like zucchini or carrots are counted as a pasta too, as long as it’s presented in a pasta-like dish.

Pastalove Bloghop Co-hosts:

Astig Vegan www.astigvegan.com
Badger Girl Learns to Cook http://www.learntocookbadgergirl.com
BigFatBaker http://bigfatbaker.com
Bon à croquer http://www.bonacroquer.com/
Cake Duchess http://www.cakeduchess.com
Elephant Eats www.elephanteats.com
Hobby And More http://hobbyandmore.blogspot.com/
Mis Pensamientos http://juniakk.blogspot.com
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies http://tcrumbley.blogspot.com/
Oh Cake http://cake-o-cake.blogspot.com/
Rico sin Azúcar http://ricosinazucar.com
Simply Reem www.simplyreem.com
Soni’s Food for Thought http://sonisfoodforthought.blogspot.com/
Teaspoon of Spice www.teaspoonofspice.com
The Spicy RD www.eastewart.com/blog
The Wimpy Vegetarian http://thewimpyvegetarian.com
Vegetarian Mamma www.vegetarianmamma.com
You Made That? http://www.you-made-that.com/
Vegan Yack Attack http://veganyackattack.com

 

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46 Responses to “Pasta Bloghop: Swiss Chard and Lemon Ricotta Pasta” Subscribe

  1. Suzanne May 5, 2012 at 3:19 pm #

    I love the recipe but what you wrote is hilarious!!! Thinking how food is referenced so many times on a daily basis is mind boggling. You never cease to amaze me.

    Reply
    • The Wimpy Vegetarian May 5, 2012 at 3:32 pm #

      It was a lot of fun to put together this morning :-) . And it really is amazing all the terms we use all the time that are borrowed from cooking.

      Reply
  2. Deanna Segrave-Dlay May 5, 2012 at 3:36 pm #

    OK this post is brilliant – all the food euphemisms together! Plus this is seriously my favorite kind of pasta recipe – some spaghetti with ricotta, bacon and whatever green is in season – delish!

    Reply
    • The Wimpy Vegetarian May 5, 2012 at 3:40 pm #

      Mine too. It’s so easy and healthy. And the story was very fun to play with this morning :-)

      Reply
  3. Jessica | Oh Cake May 5, 2012 at 6:33 pm #

    LOL – oh you are a clever wordsmith! I love it! And the recipe – YUM! I love ricotta in pasta. Sending you some #pastalove!

    Reply
  4. Soni May 5, 2012 at 7:08 pm #

    This was great and hilarious!!Very well written :) Love your pasta with ricotta!Swiss Chard sounds great in this recipe and perfect for this weather!Sending you #pastalove my friend :)

    Reply
  5. Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious May 5, 2012 at 7:59 pm #

    I really enjoyed your post! I guess I never noticed how much food and cooking words are used to express ourselves!

    And lovely pasta. I absolutely love ricotta. I haven’t tried swiss chard yet but will definitely have to try it soon.

    Reply
  6. Suzanne May 5, 2012 at 8:55 pm #

    This recipe looks simple and delish! Love post here hilarious :)

    Reply
  7. Richgail @AstigVegan May 5, 2012 at 11:12 pm #

    Ahaha! What a clever, charming prose. Thank you for sharing your recipe-and your humor! You just made the #pastalove bloghop even alot “sweeter” ;)

    Reply
  8. EA-The Spicy RD May 6, 2012 at 7:24 am #

    Super fun post, and I am loving your recipe! I use a lot of kale and spinach in my kitchen, but leave poor old Swiss chard neglected….No more though! I’m pinning this recipe to make soon ~love all the flavors! Happy to celebrate #pastalove with you this month :-)

    Reply
    • The Wimpy Vegetarian May 6, 2012 at 12:41 pm #

      It’s so nice to see you in a bloghop again! We’ve missed you. Lots of @pastalove to you too :-)

      Reply
  9. Helena / Rico sin Azúcar May 6, 2012 at 11:53 am #

    Yum!! I love ricotta cheese!!! a simple, complete and healthy dish, thanks for sharing!

    Happy #pastalove, Susan ;-)

    Reply
    • The Wimpy Vegetarian May 6, 2012 at 12:42 pm #

      Thanks Helena! I loved your canneloni dish. I pinned it and immediately a ton of people pinned it too. I loved the approach you took.

      Reply
  10. Amy @ ElephantEats May 6, 2012 at 2:55 pm #

    Haha, this post is so clever! And the recipe looks delicious :) #pastalove!

    Reply
  11. Lora @cakeduchess May 7, 2012 at 12:56 am #

    Beautiful pasta dish with lovely ricotta. I make dishes similar to this often…so healthy and flavorful:) Your post was so funny! ;)

    Reply
  12. Rosemary May 7, 2012 at 6:36 pm #

    Your post popped up just as I was thinking about dinner, so that’s what I made – perfect! And your entertaining story really ‘takes the cake’ !! So clever :)

    Reply
    • The Wimpy Vegetarian May 8, 2012 at 5:06 pm #

      Thanks so much Rosemary! I’m so glad you liked it so much. I’m making it again tomorrow night for dinner :-)

      Reply
  13. Terra May 7, 2012 at 7:26 pm #

    This sounds summery, and delicious! I still have not tried swiss chard, but I believe I need to try it this year finally:-) Hugs, Terra

    Reply
    • The Wimpy Vegetarian May 8, 2012 at 5:07 pm #

      Swiss chard is one of my favorite greens – you’ve gotta try it! Thanks for stopping by, Terra. Hugs :-)

      Reply
  14. Winnie May 8, 2012 at 4:43 pm #

    What a fun post…and I love the pasta!

    Reply
    • The Wimpy Vegetarian May 8, 2012 at 5:08 pm #

      Thanks Winnie! Definitely the kind of pasta dish I can see you liking. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  15. Angie@Angie's Recipes May 8, 2012 at 10:06 pm #

    I just had to LOL when I read “she is in the frying pan now” …
    The pasta with Swiss chard looks absolutely delicious….simply right up my alley.

    Reply
  16. Cindy May 9, 2012 at 5:36 am #

    Love it! You always make me smile :) #pastalove!
    Cindy

    Reply
  17. Enduring Sun May 9, 2012 at 5:52 am #

    Haha – I would have stopped to laugh at your post, but I had too much on my plate. ;)

    Reply
  18. juniakk @ mis pensamientos May 9, 2012 at 8:22 am #

    i love the ricotta cheese here with the swiss chard. mmmm this must have been delicious!!!

    Reply
  19. Alida May 10, 2012 at 3:28 am #

    You are funny. Such a clever post! Your pasta dish sounds exquisite. I love ricotta with pasta, but honestly I don’t think I have never tried Swiss chard. Definitely going to change that and add this to our menu soon. Yum!

    Reply
    • The Wimpy Vegetarian May 10, 2012 at 2:17 pm #

      You must try Swiss chard – it’s so good. I’m such a greens girl anyway, but Swiss chard is one of my favorites. I hope you give it a try :-) . Thanks so much for stopping by, Alida!

      Reply
  20. Richa@HobbyandMore May 11, 2012 at 2:05 pm #

    so true! that is one hilarious post.. i guess we cannot stop thinking about food! i am loving the lemony chard!

    Reply
  21. Elizabeth @Mango_Queen May 15, 2012 at 7:36 pm #

    I love lemon in pasta! This swiss chard and lemon ricotta looks superb! Glad you shared the pasta love with us!

    Reply
    • The Wimpy Vegetarian June 5, 2012 at 4:29 pm #

      Thanks so much Elizabeth!! I have it every couple of weeks and always make a huge batch!

      Reply
  22. Georgie May 16, 2012 at 8:22 am #

    I just love-love-love the combination of flavors here. Beautiful!

    Reply

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  1. Weekly Menu Plan and Photo Fun: Sweet Potato Skins and Cowgirl Time! | The Spicy RD - May 14, 2012

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  2. Tired of Planning Dinner? - May 17, 2012

    [...] was checking email one afternoon when up popped this post notice titled: Swiss Chard and Lemon Ricotta Pasta. The photo appealed to me, I could see it was quick to make., and by chance I had the ingredients [...]

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