Swiss Chard & Eggplant Pasta Ricotta
This is a great way to jazz up a basic pasta ricotta dish. Adding greens is always an easy one because you can throw them into the boiling water with the pasta at the end to wilt them before straining and combining the sauce. Adding the garnish of roasted pieces of eggplant is an extra delicious treat.
Ingredients:
1 lb. rigatoni
1 bunch swiss chard, roughly chopped and washed
1 eggplant, chopped into 1 inch pieces
Salt
1-2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp red chili pepper flakes
½ tsp (or little more) dried oregano
Ricotta Cream Sauce:
15 oz container whole milk ricotta cheese
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 pinches sea salt
Lots of freshly cracked black pepper
About 1 cup reserved pasta water
Instructions:
Place chopped eggplant in a colander, generously sprinkle with salt and let sit to sweat out the moisture for at least 20 minutes (up to an hour). Preheat the oven to 400. When the sweating time is up, pat down the sweating eggplant with a paper towel to remove the excess moisture and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with dried oregano and red chili pepper flakes. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, then remove and set aside until they are needed.
Fill a pot with water and start to bring to a boil for the pasta.
In the meantime, mix together the cream sauce: ricotta, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper. Set aside.
Right before the pasta is just about al dente, reserve a cup of the pasta water, set aside. Then add the chopped swiss chard. Let the swiss chard wilt in the boiling water with the pasta then drain into a colander.
Now in the empty pot, add the cream sauce mixture and reserved pasta water. Stir until smooth, add the pasta and wilted swiss chard. Continue tossing until evenly combined and the sauce is creamy and silky.
Serve immediately, then garnish with the roasted eggplant pieces.
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