• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
She's Cookin' | food and travel

She's Cookin' | food and travel

culinary travel with a side of heart healthy recipes and libations

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Baking + Sweets
    • Breakfast-Brunch
    • Drinks
    • Heart Healthy
    • Main Dish
    • Meatless Monday
    • Pasta
    • Salads
    • Seafood
    • Sides
    • Soups
    • Veggies
  • Drinks
  • Low Sodium Tips
  • Travel
    • Belize
    • CHINA
      • Beijing
      • Hong Kong
      • Shanghai
    • EUROPE
      • Amsterdam
      • Brussels
      • Cannes
      • Paris
      • Ireland
    • JAPAN
      • Osaka
    • U.S.
      • Central Coast, CA
      • Chicago
      • Eureka Springs, AR
      • Gulf Coast, MS
      • Huntington Beach, CA
      • Idaho
      • Little Saigon, CA
      • Louisville, KY
      • Malibu, CA
      • Napa Valley
      • North Carolina
    • Tours – Food and Farm
    • Travel Guides
  • OC Dining & Events
    • Anaheim
    • Brea
    • Costa Mesa
    • Dana Point
    • Huntington Beach
    • Irvine
    • Laguna Beach
    • Newport Beach
    • Orange
    • Santa Ana
    • Sushi restaurants
    • Tustin
    • Westminster
  • Lifestyle
  • About
    • Let’s Work Together
    • General Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy

Pasta with Red Chard and Chickpeas

August 16 by Priscilla 6 Comments

Share
Tweet
Pin
Yum
Email
Buffer
Reddit
Share

Pasta with Swiss Chard

Lately, I’ve been posting recipes highlighting green beans, peppers, eggplant, and lettuce from our garden.  But what I was craving was some greens, like swiss chard – specifically, red chard, because of its beautiful color – very visually appealing with its shiny green ribbed leaves in colorful contrast to the brilliant red stems, I remembered my mother including it in Japanese sukiyaki.

We grew swiss chard in our garden when I was growing up and it’s readily available in most markets here in California – some areas, not so much.  Swiss chard is similar to spinach and beet greens with a flavor that is bitter, pungent and slightly salty.  Swiss chard, along with kale, mustard greens and collard greens, is one of several leafy green vegetables often referred to as “greens”. It is a tall leafy green vegetable with a thick, crunchy stalk that comes in white, red or yellow with wide fan-like green leaves. WHFoods pronounces it a vegetable valedictorian and one of the world’s most nutritional foods because it contains loads of Vitamin K, A, and C and other nutrients – plus, one cooked cup of chard has only 35 calories!

Here I’ve included it in a quick easy pasta dish that’s perfect for Meatless Monday or any day where you desire a light, healthy meal packed with fresh flavor. The chickpeas add a little crunch along with a dash of tart lemon and tangy feta cheese.

Pasta with Red Chard and Chickpeas

1 bunch of organic red chard

1 can organic garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

zest of one lemon

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use

red pepper flakes

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 med. onion, chopped

3 green onions, sliced

6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

8 oz. Barilla Plus thin spaghetti *

salt and freshly ground pepper

Serves 4

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add a generous amount of salt.

1. Wash the greens under running water. Stack them on a large cutting board as they are washed. Pasta with Swiss Chard collageHold the stack of chard leaves, cut off the stems. Chop the stems into 1/2 inch lengths. Chop the leaves into 1 inch strips.

2. Drain the garbanzo beans, rinse, place in a bowl with the lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and thyme so flavors can meld.

Insert a strainer into the boiling water. Add the stems and blanch for 1-2 minutes. Remove and set aside in a bowl.  Replace the strainer in the boiling water and add the leaves. Blanch for 1-2 minutes, pull the strainer up, use a large spoon to press down on the leaves and squeeze out excess liquid, set aside. Use this water for the pasta.

3. Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta in a colander. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and toss.

Return the pot to the burner. Heat on medium to burn off liquid, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Add onions and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, stir and cook for another minute. Add the garbanzo bean mixture, stir to combine, then add the chard stems and leaves. Continue stirring, add the pasta and the feta cheese, stir to combine ingredients.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy 🙂

Pasta with Red Chard4

* Barilla Plus is a multigrain pasta that has 4 grams of fiber per 56g gram serving and is a good source of protein and Omega -3 from ground flaxseed. It’s appearance is similar to regular pasta, so may be more readily accepted by kids (and others) who may not find whole wheat or heartier brown pastas to their liking.

Related

You Might Also Like:

  • Mission Meatless - Pasta Primavera

    So many of us have made resolutions, set goals, voiced intentions, or whatever you wish…

  • vegan gluten free green goddess dip
    Green Goddess Dip

    This vegan dip was a snap to make - especially with the new mini food…

  • Meatless Monday - Roasted Veggie Lasagna

    One day, while surfing Foodbuzz’s “Daily 9”, a photo called the Greatest Vegetable Lasagna in…

Share
Tweet
Pin
Yum
Email
Buffer
Reddit
Share

Category Main Dish| Meatless| Pasta| She's Cookin'| Veggies Tags chickpeas| Meatless Monday| meatless recipes| pasta| Pasta with Red Chard and Chickpeas| red chard| vegetarian recipes

Previous
Pizzettas!!!
Next
Hello, Cupcake!
logo
Food Advertising by

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. The Rowdy Chowgirl

    August 16 at 1:52 pm

    I love chard…so easy to grow, so delicious! This looks awesome.

    Reply
  2. Monet

    August 16 at 2:03 pm

    Swiss chard is such a wonderful vegetable…a delicious and nutritious green! I love adding it to pasta, and I imagine it pairs wonderfully with the chickpeas and feta cheese.
    .-= Monet´s last blog ..Sugar and Spice-Cinnamon Raisin Bread =-.

    Reply
  3. rebecca

    August 16 at 7:36 pm

    wow this is a fab pasta dish and love your blog thanks for stopping by mine I always meet new bloggers through guest posts love it Rebecca
    .-= rebecca´s last blog ..Guest Post- Summer Bisque with Sashimi Skewers =-.

    Reply
  4. May LIng Wu

    August 17 at 9:59 am

    Great post! I was just at the farmer’s market and saw some beautiful chard wondering what there was to do with it.

    Reply
  5. Pam @ Sticks Forks Fingers

    August 17 at 1:46 pm

    This looks fabulous. Our chard is winding down, and this is an inspirational way to use it. Thanks!
    .-= Pam @ Sticks Forks Fingers´s last blog ..Weddings and Expansion =-.

    Reply
  6. Magic of Spice

    August 18 at 12:47 pm

    What a gorgeous dish… I have rainbow chard growing this year and need this king of inspiration 🙂
    .-= Magic of Spice´s last blog ..Make a Comment- Win Big! =-.

    Reply

We love hearing from our readers! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Get Adventures by Email

logo
Food Advertisements by

Travel with Me

logo
Food Advertisements by

Top Posts

Low Sodium Homemade Country Biscuits
Ina Garten's Lemon Chicken Breast
King Cornbread
Luscious Lemon Meringue Cocktail
Spicy Middle Eastern Roasted Potatoes {Batata Harra}
Grilled Whole Fish with Soy Ginger Sauce
logo
Food Advertisements by
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Drinks
  • Low Sodium Tips
  • OC Dining & Events
  • Travel
  • About

Footer