Orecchiette with Brown Butter, Swiss Chard, and Walnuts

Ingredients

Servings

4 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 12 14 16

US / METRIC

8 cups

Chard

I used Swiss chard

or Baby Kale or Spinach

8 oz

Orecchiette Pasta

1 Tbsp

Kosher Salt

1/3 cup

Unsalted Butter

1 cup

Walnuts

1/4 cup

Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese

to taste

Salt

to taste

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Cooking Instructions

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Step 1

Place Chard (8 cups) in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let sit for five minutes to allow any dirt to settle. Scoop greens from water and place in a large colander to drain. Any water clinging to the leaves is just fine.

Step 2

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add Kosher Salt (1 Tbsp) and stir in the Orecchiette Pasta (8 oz) .

Step 3

In a large sauté pan, melt the Unsalted Butter (1/3 cup) over medium heat. Once the butter begins turning brown and smelling nutty, turn off the heat.

Step 4

Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan over medium heat, toast the Walnuts (1 cup) until they become lightly browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

Step 5

Place the toasted walnuts in a tea towel and rub together to remove papery skin. Transfer walnuts to a sieve and shake again to remove any additional skin. Set aside.

Step 6

Boil pasta till al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and set aside. Drain pasta directly over the colander filled with the greens.

Step 7

Bring the brown butter back up to temperature over medium or medium-high heat; add the pasta and greens to the pan. Add the walnuts and toss to coat. Sprinkle Pecorino Romano Cheese (1/4 cup) over top and toss again. Taste. Add more Salt (to taste) and Freshly Ground Black Pepper (to taste) . If necessary add some of the pasta cooking liquid to the pan.

Step 8

Serve pasta, grating more cheese over the top if desired.