A Fresh Summer Pasta: Fusilli with Swiss Chard and Mushrooms

 

For the last few days our routine has been a little off thanks to birthdays, travelling, and just general busyness. The result of this has been the eating of a lot of heavy and unhealthy foods, which had us craving something healthy to eat last night. It's certainly unusual for Bryan to be craving something vegetarian, but from YiRan's perspective, this was a nice departure from his usual bacon and meat cravings.

No meat? I'm going to sleep this one out... 

We had swiss chard on hand as well as some mushrooms from a cancelled dinner plan the previous week (we opted to order in Chinese food instead... how healthy!), and figured that this would be a great opportunity to make a nice summer pasta dish.

Making the Dish
What You'll Need
(Serves: 2)
1/2 lb whole wheat fusilli
3 - 4 leaves swiss chard
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
5 large cremini mushrooms
1 shallot
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup white wine

A summer pasta dish should consist of two things, in our opinion - fresh seasonal vegetables, and limited cooking time to reduce the emitted heat. This dish takes care of both, as it comes together very quickly.

To make this dish we used our swiss chard, mushrooms, as well as some chopped Italian tomatoes and shallots, all over a nice healthy whole wheat fusilli. The whole wheat fusilli gave the dish a nice earthy flavor that balanced our the strong and somewhat tangy flavor of the swiss chard.

Simmering the garlic and shallots in delicious olive oil and butter

Start by dicing up the shallot and some garlic and simmer it in a combination of olive oil and butter. The butter gives the base of the sauce a nice sweetness that enhances the flavor of the swiss chard. Add a touch of crushed red pepper to heighten the flavor of the shallot a bit.

Sliced mushrooms and swiss chard

Then, slice up the mushroom and swiss chard and add them to the pan, and toss everything together so that the veggies get coated and start to cook down. Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms have rendered their liquid and it's cooked off. Then, add about 3/4 cup of white wine and let it cook down by about half.

Cooking down the mushrooms and swiss chard

Once the wine has cooked down, add the tomatoes. Drain the tomatoes first so that just the tomato flesh remains, and then toss them into the mixture. Finally, add a bit of grated parmigiano cheese and stir into the swiss chard mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and let this simmer while the pasta cooks.

Adding the parmigiano and tomatoes to the swiss chard mixture

Cook the pasta in salted water to a minute shy of the package directions so it's nice and al dente. Once that's done, add the pasta directly to the swiss chard mixture.

Adding the fusilli directly to the swiss chard mixture

The mixture will be a little tight from the simmering, so add some of the pasta water to loosen things up and toss everything together over high heat.

Tossing everything together with a touch of extra pasta water

Generously top with freshly grated parmigiano and enjoy your healthy summer pasta!

Even without meat, this looks delicious!

The Result
This swiss chard pasta really hit the spot for us. It was light, healthy, but still filling and satisfying. The swiss chard has a nice tangy flavor that's augmented by the shallots and white wine, but balanced and complemented nicely by the whole wheat pasta and the inherent sweetness of the chopped tomatoes and mushrooms.

It was real easy to do, with minimal ingredients and cooking time, but still packed a lot of flavor. Give this a try and enjoy!

How have you used swiss chard before? Let us know in the comments!