It was probably in the mid-80s (~30O C) in my
kitchen tonight, but it was cooler than the last few evenings, especially once
I had two fans going. I had a
refrigerator full of fresh produce from the Farmers’
Market this morning (serious splurging happened!), and we need leftovers
for lunches this next week… so even though I was home alone and it was super
hot and muggy, I decided to cook J
I found some fabulous rainbow chard this morning, so I
searched for yummy-sounding recipes featuring this delight. My cookbooks featured mainly autumn dishes –
delicious but far too “hearty” for a summer night. I found these two online (Rainbow
Chard with Pine Nuts, Parmesan, and Basil & Spaghetti
with Braised Kale) and decided to create something in between.
This is my first foray into writing up my own recipes, so
let’s see how this goes… (maybe next time I’ll think to take some pics along
the way!).
Ingredients
1 block firm tofu
1-2 large bunches
of rainbow chard (or Swiss chard, kale, etc.) [I used 1 because that’s what I
had, but I’d recommend 2 to balance better with the pasta.]
1 bulb of garlic (or less, to taste! [my partner and I love garlic!])
1 medium/large onion
1 cup fresh basil leaves (or 1 Tbsp. dried basil)
1 tsp. salt
¼ cup almonds (or walnuts)
½ cup grated/shredded parmesan
olive/canola oil
½ pound spaghetti (or other pasta)
Preparation & Cooking
1.
Pat the tofu dry and cut into 1 in3
cubes. Fry in 1 Tbsp. oil at medium-high
heat, stirring carefully to brown on all sides (but trying not to break the
cubes!), as you prepare the other ingredients (20+ minutes).
2.
Add 1-3 cloves of garlic (whole!) to the pan
with the tofu – to “roast” for the pesto.
3.
Cook & drain spaghetti.
4.
Toast the almonds until just crunchy but not
burnt (~2 minutes in a toaster oven for frozen almonds). Set aside for the pesto.
5.
Chop onion and dice remaining garlic.
6.
Rinse chard and pat dry. Remove stems – cut stems into ~¼ in3
pieces. Cut or rip leaves into 2-/3-
inch pieces.
7.
Sauté chard stems with a pinch of salt in 1 Tbsp.
oil (I removed the tofu from the skillet at this point and used the remaining
oil) over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally
until they are slightly browned, approximately 6-7 minutes.
8.
Meanwhile, prepare the pesto: add “roasted”
garlic, basil, toasted almonds, parmesan, a pinch of salt, and 1-2 Tbsp. olive
oil to food processor. Chop!
9.
Add chopped onion and diced garlic (NOT the
garlic that was in with the tofu!). Sauté
1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
10. Add
chard leaves and remaining salt, stirring frequently. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, until just wilted (but
still green!).
11. Remove
from heat & toss with tofu, cooked spaghetti & pesto. Enjoy!
