Chef-Boy-I-Be Illinois' Cavatappi With Swiss Chard

Chef-Boy-I-Be Illinois's Note:

I have never tried Swiss Chard, but wanted to because of it's health benefits. I looked for a recipe and couldn't find one to my liking (most just called for sauteeing). Last night I made Cooking Diva's Tuscan Chicken in Lemon-Wine Sauce (Scaloppine Al Limone) Tuscan Chicken in Lemon-Wine Sauce (Scaloppine Al Limone) and she suggested serving it with a side of pasta. So, I thought, why not add the chard to the pasta, along with some canellini beans and combine that with the wonderful lemon-wine sauce from her chicken. Her chicken dish, by the way, is delicious! The result, we thought, was quite tasty!

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 bunch swiss chard
• 1 cup cavatappi pasta, uncooked
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Bring water to a boil and season with salt.
2. Trim swiss chard, removing tough center ribs, and slice into 1 inch strips.
3. Add pasta and chard to boiling water and boil 10 minutes.
4. Drain pasta and chard, and add beans.
5. Add all to the lemon-wine sauce from Tuscan Chicken in Lemon-Wine Sauce (Scaloppine Al Limone).
6. Sprinkle cheese and stir to incorporate.
7. Tuscan Chicken in Lemon-Wine Sauce (Scaloppine Al Limone).

Reviews

[morgangeline]

This was great! I actually made the Tuscan "chicken" (I used seitan, which turned out great) because I found this recipe - had some heirloom cannellini beans and Swiss chard I needed to use up. I decided the flavor needed a little more complexity, so I added some sauteed mushrooms and onions, which helped. All together, it was a fabulous meal, and my boyfriend is kind of in awe of me now. Thanks for coming up with this and posting it!!

[BarbryT]

I seriously dithered about the number of stars for this one. It is very, very good. But it depends on making another dish first, to get the lemon-wine sauce for the pasta. If a from-scratch wine sauce were included in the recipe, it definitely would be a four-star. Also, after looking in 4 distinct stores I was unable to find Cavatappi pasta so made it with Fusilli Bucati Corti. I shall persevere in the search, though!