Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A farm share and kitchen garden recipe: Cheese ravioli with fresh chard, shallots and basil pesto

When I got home from work tonight there was literally nothing obvious to cook for dinner. It's been over a week since I've been grocery shopping. But no fear! I have plenty of things growing right outside my kitchen door and sitting in the crisper drawer from this week's Green Meadows CSA farm share.

After a rummage in the back of the freezer I found a bag of cheese raviolis. I put the baby in the yard to play while I clipped the top two inches off every basil plant I have. In the back of the baking cabinet I found some walnuts, add a bit of olive oil and some fresh Parmesan cheese and voila! Fresh pesto! I made enough for two more dinners which I froze for later.

To add to the pasta I cut up all the chard I got last week from Green Meadows before it was too far gone. I sauteed it with diced garlic scapes and a shallot, also from the farm share. Toss that all together, sprinkle on some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and it was so good my husband finished his plate before I even finished a third of mine. And then he ate my leftovers.

I don't like to measure when I cook so here's about what I did in recipe form:

Cheese Ravioli with fresh chard, shallots and basil pesto:

Pesto:
-A colander of fresh basil, washed.
-a handful of walnuts
-a few tablespoons of olive oil
-a few small chunks of Parmesan cheese
Blend everything in a blender until it's minced.

Pasta:
-chard chopped into approximate 2" square pieces.
-one diced shallot
-one diced garlic scape

Saute the garlic and shallot in butter for about 5 minutes. Add the chard and cook until soft. Toss with cooked ravioli and stir in pesto. Top with fresh Parmesan. Yum! Sadly my photo is out of focus and we ate it all so I can't retake it!

8 comments:

  1. I can't see the picture, I tried twice to load it, but I sure can imagine from the description! It sounds like it was a winner.

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  2. Hmm I love pasta dishes especially when it is unplanned, sometimes you can discover new recipes out of the blue. Same here, I don't measure when I cook, I just put what I think would blend in with the dish and it's perfect, Rachel Ray!

    AL

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  3. i am coming to your house to eat!!!!

    as a hostess gift, i will bring wine (and probably whine too) and a fossilized clam shell half from the kansas seas....

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  4. I would never have thought of walnuts but it sounds good and it looks good too.

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  5. I am so delighted that you posted a recipe for swiss chard. I am trying to learn to "eat" for of all its antioxidants. I even have some planted in my garden. I break off a leaf now and again but cannot say that I like it.

    I like all the ingredients of this recipe so I copied it and placed it in my Master Cook collection of recipes.

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  6. Looks so delicious - my diet consists of mostly pasta so I'm all for this!

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  7. DJan: the pic isn't great anyway, tasted better than it looked.

    AL: I like that you don't have to measure to cook, baking is another story. I used to cook so much more often, this was the first time I'd created something out of the blue in weeks!

    deborah: come over anytime! My husband doesn't drink so I'm aching to enjoy a glass a wine with someone! It's no fun cracking a bottle on your own!!!

    Rae: walnuts give it a lovely nutty flavor, yummy!

    Lynn: I often throw some chard in chicken soup, the vitamins cook into the broth and it gives it a great flavor, but not so strong were you to eat it plain, a bit much for me too.

    TC: I hope your wife likes the recipe! I try to eat as healthy as I can, helps keep my Crohn's Disease under control. AND it feels so good to be eating things grown either right outside my door or five miles down the road!

    Lisa: being one quarter Sicilian my diet consists of mainly pasta as well....nothing wrong with that!

    Thanks for visiting everyone, happy eating! -kate

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  8. That sounds like a great recipe, the walnuts would give it a great flavor. I got to restart my herb garden, it fizzled last year and I didn't try this season.

    Any sign of your mantids yet? I have one that has almost become a pet, he is living in a planter on my patio.

    Judy

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