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    Home » VEGETABLES » Greens

    Swiss Chard and Lemon Ricotta Pasta

    May 5, 2012 45 Comments

    Pasta tossed with swiss chard, lemony ricotta cheese, and parmesan cheese. Bacon lardons are optional.

    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.

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

    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time20 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Cuisine: Pasta

    Ingredients

    • 3 cups raw Swiss chard sliced (including the stems)
    • 2 handfuls dried spaghetti noodles
    • 2 strips bacon cut into ¼
    • ½ large shallot minced
    • olive oil as needed
    • ⅓ cup ricotta cheese
    • 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
    • zest from ½ lemon
    • ¼ 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.

    Notes

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

     

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. The Wimpy Vegetarian

      May 05, 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 05, 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 05, 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 05, 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
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 05, 2012 at 10:18 pm

        Thanks Jess! Sending lots of #pastalove backatcha 🙂

        Reply
    4. Soni

      May 05, 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
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 05, 2012 at 10:19 pm

        Thanks so much Soni! I loved your pasta entry this month too!!

        Reply
    5. Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious

      May 05, 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
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 05, 2012 at 10:20 pm

        You might be surprised at all the idioms I left out too 🙂 Very fun exercise.

        Reply
    6. Suzanne

      May 05, 2012 at 8:55 pm

      This recipe looks simple and delish! Love post here hilarious 🙂

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 05, 2012 at 10:21 pm

        Thanks much Suzanne!! Sending you #pastalove this month!

        Reply
    7. Richgail @AstigVegan

      May 05, 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
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 06, 2012 at 12:40 pm

        Thanks Richgail! Lots of #pastalove backatcha!!

        Reply
    8. EA-The Spicy RD

      May 06, 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 06, 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 06, 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 06, 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 06, 2012 at 2:55 pm

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

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 08, 2012 at 5:05 pm

        Thanks Amy! Lots of #pastalove to you too 🙂

        Reply
    11. Lora @cakeduchess

      May 07, 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
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 08, 2012 at 5:05 pm

        Thanks Lora! Hope you give it a try 🙂

        Reply
    12. Rosemary

      May 07, 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 08, 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 07, 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 08, 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 08, 2012 at 4:43 pm

      What a fun post...and I love the pasta!

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 08, 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 08, 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
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 10, 2012 at 2:13 pm

        Thanks so much Angie!!

        Reply
    16. Cindy

      May 09, 2012 at 5:36 am

      Love it! You always make me smile 🙂 #pastalove!
      Cindy

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 10, 2012 at 2:14 pm

        Thanks Cindy! And thanks for stopping by 🙂

        Reply
    17. Enduring Sun

      May 09, 2012 at 5:52 am

      Haha - I would have stopped to laugh at your post, but I had too much on my plate. 😉

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 10, 2012 at 2:14 pm

        Love it!!!! Perfect 🙂

        Reply
    18. juniakk @ mis pensamientos

      May 09, 2012 at 8:22 am

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

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 10, 2012 at 2:15 pm

        And I'm making it again, Juniakk!! Thanks for stopping by!

        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
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        May 14, 2012 at 6:09 pm

        Definitely food on the brain! Thanks for stopping by!!

        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 05, 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
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        June 05, 2012 at 4:29 pm

        Thanks Georgie!!

        Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Weekly Menu Plan and Photo Fun: Sweet Potato Skins and Cowgirl Time! | The Spicy RD says:
      May 14, 2012 at 4:30 pm

      [...] Swiss Chard and Lemon Ricotta Pasta from The Wimpy Vegetarian [...]

      Reply
    2. Tired of Planning Dinner? says:
      May 17, 2012 at 8:58 pm

      [...] 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 [...]

      Reply

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