Pasta with Anchovies, Tomatoes, and Swiss Chard

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 small yellow onion, small dice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 tbs. anchovy paste

1 or 2 leaves of swiss chard, cut into thin ribbons

1/2 can crushed tomatoes (I recommend San Marzano)

pinch of salt (anchovies are really salty, so if you are also salting your pasta water AND serving with parmesan, be wary of adding too much to the sauce)

a few good cracks of pepper

parsley for garnish, fresh parmesan to serve

Directions:

1) Add diced onion to the olive oil in a medium sauce pan on medium heat and add a dash of salt. Let onions "sweat" for 5 minutes or so until they are translucent and soft. Add garlic and stir until fragrant.

2) Stir in anchovy paste until incorporated--this will create some "fond" (tasty brown bits) on the bottom of the pan, which is great for flavor!

3) Add swiss chard leaves and cover the pot for 3 minutes or until they are slightly wilted.

4) Pour in crushed tomatoes and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the fond from the bottom of the pan. Season with salt (if needed), black pepper and, if desired, a bit of crushed red pepper for heat.

5) Turn heat down to low and let sauce simmer for about 10 minutes, until the flavors have married.

6) Toss with spaghetti or capellini , top with fresh parmesan, and sprinkle parsley on top for garnish. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Onions sweating

A nice swiss chard chiffonade

After the tomatoes were added

Ta-da!

This is a loose interpretation of an amazing dish I had at a restaurant in St. Louis, which featured fresh tomatoes (too unseasonal), and spinach (which I didn't have). I substituted swiss chard for the spinach, which I had on hand--and has great health benefits to boot!--as well as crushed San Marzano tomatoes, which, as far as canned tomatoes go, truly make all the difference (in the summer, fresh roma would be perfect). The anchovies in the sauce are subtle, and lend a really nice briny/savory/je ne sais quoi flavor to the dish without being overly fishy; the chard holds its color and texture well, as well as a hint of earthiness. I think this very well may be my go-to pasta sauce from here on out, and makes for a super easy weeknight dinner. I actually made it before I went to work today (granted, I didn't have to be in until 1), but it just goes to show that it can be slapped together pretty easily--or, in other words, that it's not too much of a potchke. If you're wondering what you can use the rest of your anchovy paste for, the tube it came in recommends squeezing some over pizza. Intriguing!