Swiss Chard Fettucine with Pine Nuts and Olive Tapenade

During my college years, I once made this Giada De Laurentiis recipe. Although I love Swiss chard and usually love Giada's recipes, something was off. The sauce tasted bland and watery, and kind of bitter if you ask me. Now that I look at the recipe again, I think it was the profusion of chard (she used two whole bunches) and the whole can of undrained tomatoes that made it watery, and the whole wheat spaghetti that tasted a little bitter. I do usually appreciate healthy substitutions and I think that whole grains are a good thing, but I think I've decided I like whole wheat in my bread, not in my pasta. It has a slightly bitter flavor and a texture that isn't quite as subtly chewy as regular pasta. It doesn't have that elastic quality that I didn't really notice until it was absent in the whole wheat pasta.

I saw some great-looking red chard in the grocery store, and I had an abundance of fettucine at home, so I decided to give the chard pasta combination another go. But this time, instead of a whole can of tomatoes with their juices, I just added a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste and some lemon juice. Instead of a few olives as a topping, I used black olive tapenade (you could also use pesto, homemade or store-bought) so that the flavor would go throughout. And to boost the texture, I decided to add in more toasted pine nuts.

I was very pleased with the results! It was not soupy in the least and had a lot of flavor and texture from the chard, slightly-chewy pasta, and nuts. In addition, the entire dish can be made in one big skillet. Here's the recipe:

8 oz. fettucine
1 bunch red Swiss chard, chopped or shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup white wine
the juice of half a lemon
4 tbsp. prepared black olive tapenade or olive pesto
2 tbsp. tomato paste
olive oil
salt & pepper
1 small pkg. pine nuts, toasted in the oven

Bring a big nonstick skillet filled halfway with water to a boil. Season liberally with salt, and add the pasta. Cook until almost done. Remove the pasta to a bowl and sprinkle it with a little olive oil so it stays loose. Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, which should still be hot from cooking the pasta. Put it over medium high heat until the oil is hot. Add the Swiss chard and garlic, season it with salt and pepper, and add the wine and lemon juice. Cook it for a few minutes until it starts to become tender, stirring occasionally. Add the pasta back in, along with the tomato paste and the olive tapenade. Once everything has heated through, add the pine nuts and toss to combine.

Serves 4.

P.S. I couldn't help but post another photo I took last night of our beautiful view! I love our new balcony and the beautiful scenery here!