Red Chard with Ricotta Orecchiette Pasta

Red Chard with Ricotta and Orecchiette Pasta

2 to 3 tsp. salt

¾ pound dried orecchiette pasta

2 ounces olive oil

3 cloves of garlic crushed

1 medium shallot finely chopped

1 large bunch of red Swiss chard

8 ounces of thick cut prosciutto diced into small pieces

1 cup of yellow cherry tomatoes sliced in half

½ cup black olives sliced

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tsp. cracked black pepper

1 tsp. ground sea salt

½ cup fresh ricotta cheese (White Gold Cheese)

½ cup Caciocavallo firm cheese grated (White Gold Cheese)

Separate the red chard leaves from the stems then chopped both into small bite size pieces. Bring a large stockpot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 10-12 minutes until al dente.

While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat add the garlic and shallots and sauté until fragrant. Add the prosciutto, cherry tomatoes and black olives then season with the red pepper flakes, cracked black pepper and ground sea salt. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes stirring until chard stems are tender crisp.

Drain the pasta, reserving ¾ of a cup of the cooking liquid. Ladle the cooking liquid into the skillet with the chard stems, start with ½ cup of the liquid and check to see if you need more as you continue cooking the pan sauce. Lay the cut up red chard leaves in the skillet on top of the stem mixture cover with a lid and cook until the chard leaves are wilted. At this point you can check the constituency of the pan sauce and decide if you need any more cooking liquid. It should be moist but not too wet.

Pour the chard mixture into a large serving bowl, add the drained pasta and toss to coat the pasta. Add the ricotta and toss again. Sprinkle with the grated caciocavallo and serve

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