Whole Wheat Pasta with Chard and Goat Cheese

I have a small vegetable garden. I mostly plant warm season crops such as tomatoes, cucumber, okra, pepper etc, but I also have some cool season crops such as lettuce, rainbow chard, garlic and beets. I love chard. It is a very nutritious and versatile green. I add it to curries, soups, daals parathas etc. The rainbow chard gets its name from the different colors of stocks it has. They look very beautiful in the garden, and ofcouse on the plate too.

I had planted chard in the garden last year, and harvest the leaves. I didn't dig out the root, which means it regrew this year. By the first week of the April, I already had 5-6 bunches of chard ready to be harvest. Fresh, organic and colorful chard, right from the garden. It can't get better then this.

I had some goat cheese in the fridge so, I thought of combining the two things (goat cheese and chard)I like and make a healthy and filling dish. That is when I thought of making whole wheat pasta. Even my toddler loved this dish. I will surely be making this again.

Ingredients:
2 Cups Whole Wheat Pasta Shells, (I used penne)
2 Stocks of Celery, Chopped,
1/2 Cup Frozen Peas,
1 bunch (6-7 big leaves) chard with stocks,
3 Nos. Multicolored Mini Sweet Peppers (Optional), Thinly Sliced
1/4 Cup Kidney Beans (or 1/2 Cups Canned) ,
1/4 cup Garbanzo Beans (or 1/2 Cups Canned)
3/4 to 1 Cup Goat Cheese, Divided into Small Chunks
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Onion, Chopped
a Pinch, Crushed Red Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic, Chopped,
Water as required,
Salt per taste
1 Teaspoon, Italian Seasoning

Method:
If you are using canned beans skip this paragraph and start with the next one. Soak the dried beans in 1 cup of water for minimum 6 hours or over night. Then ext day, pressure cook the beans in very little amont of water for 3 whistles. If you don't have a pressure cooker, then boil the beans in pleny of water until tender.

In a deep pan, take enough water to boil the pasta and add salt to it. Let the water come to a boil and add the pasta. Cook for the time given on the package.

In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roughly chop the chard leaves. Finley chop the stalks.Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions, celery and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion turns translucent  Now add the chard and stocks, sweet peppers, peas, crushed red pepper and the beans. Add any other veggie you might be using at this time. Cook for 30-40 seconds, just until the chard starts wilting. The greens will have more chance to get cooked in the oven.

Drain the pasta and add to the vegetable mixture. Add the goat cheese and half of the Parmesan cheese to the mixture. Add the Italian seasoning and stir to mix well. Transfer to an oven safe dish. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese on top and bake for 10 minutes.

Take out of the oven and serve hot.



Thank you for visiting my blog. I would love to hear from you. I appreciate your time to leave feedback and help me improve this blog.

Khichhu

Khicchu is a Gujarati dish made with rice flour.  It is usually had with chai (tea).  At my mom’s house, they make Khicchu almost every Sunday morning to have with chai. This becomes our brunch.

Here is the recipe for Khicchu. (makes about 8, 3 inch diameter discs)

Ingredients:

2 Cups Rice Flour,

4 Cups Water,

Salt to Taste,

4 Green Chills, Chopped Finely,

2 Teaspoon Ajwain (Caraway Seeds)

1 Tablespoon Cumin Seeds,

½ Teaspoon Baking Soda,

Method:

Add 4 cups water to a boiling pan. Add salt, cumin seeds and caraway seeds. Bring it to a boil. Once the water starts boiling, reduce the heat to minimum and add the chills and baking soda and cover promptly.  Be sure to reduce the heat down and cover the pan immediately after adding the chills otherwise your house will smell like chilies, and you will be sneezing for a long time J.

Change the heat to medium high again and add the rice flour a little at a time stirring constantly with a wooden spatula or a wooden rolling pin. Once all the flour is incorporated turn the heat to medium-low again. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes stirring occasionally to make sure that the flour doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.  After about 7 minutes all the water would be soaked up by the flour. At this point, switch off the stove and transfer the khicchu to a big shallow dish. Let it cool just enough so that you can handle it. Do not wait too long, otherwise the dough will start drying out and loose its elasticity.

Bring water to boil in a steamer. While the water comes to a boil, apply some oil to your palms. Take a tennis ball size portion of the dough in your hand. Roll between the palms to make a round ball. Gently press to make a disc. Now with the help of your thumb, make an indentation in the center. This will help to evenly cook the khicchu. Repeat the above steps and make discs from the rest of the dough. Apply some oil to your palms if the dough starts sticking to your hands. Transfer the discs to the steamer and steam on high heat for 10-12 minutes. Take off the stove.

Transfer the khicchu to a plate. Pour a teaspoon of oil to the center of the disc. Place some chili powder on the plate. Serve warm with chai.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I would love to hear from you. I appreciate your time to leave feedback and help me improve this blog.