Spaghetti with Swiss Chard, Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Chiles

by Joshua McFadden, featured in Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables

Published by Artisan Books

Introduction

All these ingredients come together to create a simple, sweet, salty, spicy, earthy pasta that is dead simple to make. Leftovers make a great frittata: warm them in an ovenproof skillet, add some cheese, pour in beaten eggs, and bake. The bits of pasta that stick out will get crunchy in the oven..

As featured in

Six Seasons: A New Way With Vegetables

Image of Spaghetti With Swiss Chard by Joshua McFadden — Photo by Laura Dart

Ingredients

Serves: 3 - 4

½ cup raisins
red wine vinegar
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces spaghetti or tagliatelle, or angel hair
extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
½ cup pinenuts
½ teaspoon dried chile flakes
1 bunch Swiss chard (dried ends trimmed, stems thinly sliced, leaves torn into strips)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
parmigiano reggiano cheese (for grating)

Method

Spaghetti with Swiss Chard, Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Chiles is a guest recipe by Joshua McFadden so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe

Combine the raisins, a splash of vinegar, and warm water just to cover in a bowl and plump for 20 minutes. Drain.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt until it tastes like the sea. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions. Start tasting a minute or so ahead of time so you don't overcook it. With a ladle or a measuring cup, scoop out about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and drain the pasta well.
Meanwhile, pour a healthy glug of olive oil into a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and pine nuts and let them toast very slowly until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chile flakes and cook for another 10 seconds so they can bloom, then add the drained raisins.
Increase the heat to medium, add the chard stems, season with a bit of salt and black pepper, and cook slowly until the stems are slightly tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the torn chard leaves and a splash of water (use the pasta water, if the timing works), cover the pan, and cook until the leaves are wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the drained pasta and the butter to the chard and toss well. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, black pepper, or chile flakes. Grate a bit of Parmigiano over everything, drizzle with more olive oil, and pile into bowls. Serve with more grated cheese.