This is a dish that I forget about way too often. It’s not that it’s not delicious – it is exceedingly so! – but it’s just not… fancy. There’s nothing involved that makes me think “Yes, this really is haute cuisine” or even “There’s cooking involved”.
And that is sad, because it’s absolutely delicious, wonderful comfort food and easy to make to boot.
So I figured I would write myself a reminder to make it more often by writing the recipe down.
Pasta with mangold, feta and onions
Ingredients:
1/2 big bunch (or 1 small bunch) of mangold (Swiss Chard), or a packet of babyleaf spinach or similar.
1 cup of feta, crumbled roughly
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 Tsp. olive oil
Salt, pepper
1 large pan with a lid
2 portions pasta (I used Penne here)
Optional: Sundried tomatos, sliced
Cook the pasta.
Slice the garlic. Cut the onions into half moons. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry the onions and garlic until the onions start browning – they should taste sweet. We really want them slightly caramelized to contrast with the rest of the dish.
Wash the leafy vegetables. If you’re using mangold, cut it into strips. Smaller stuff can stay whole. Put them into the pan with the onions, stir and put on the lid until the leaves have wilted. Take the lid off, stir to cook a bit more, season with salt and (lots of) crushed black pepper.
Put into the pasta pot with the drained pasta and the crumbled feta. Stir vigorously so that the feta can heat through and combine with the pasta. Optionally, add sliced sundried tomatoes, raisins or pine nuts.
Serve garnished with more crushed pepper.
I’m sharing this dish with Presto Pasta Nights, hosted this time by its creator, the lovely Ruth.