Bacon and chard are the stars of this quick pasta dinner. Smokey bacon flavors creamy sauce with sharp Pecorino cheese that coats swirls of spaghetti and the earthy greens. It’s a decadent way to eat your veggies.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch or 1 1/2 pounds large, leafy Swiss chard
- 1/2 pound meaty bacon, Oscar’s Smoke House preferred brand
- 2 tablespoons EVOO or butter
- 1 onion, white or yellow
- 1 leek
- 4 cloves garlic
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons thyme
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup stock, optional
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1 cup pecans
- About 3/4 cup heavy cream
- About 1 cup grated Pecorino cheese, plus more for serving
- Red Wine Spritzer, for serving, recipe follows
- 4 ounces dry, fruity red wine, like Valpolicella or your favorite red
- 2 ounces brandy
- 1/2 ounce simple syrup
- 3 to 4 allspice berries
- Juice of 1/2 an orange
- 1/2 cup chilled seltzer
Instructions
- Gather your ingredients.
- Place a large pot of water on to boil for pasta.
- Stem the chard. Chop the stems. Coarsely chop the greens and keep separate.
- Stack the bacon and cut the bacon into batons 1/8 to 1/4-inch wide.
- Peel and chop the onion. Halve the leek lengthwise and trim the tough green tops. Run the leek under the water and wash thoroughly. Chop the leek, whites and light greens. Peel the garlic and grate or chop.
- Heat a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and render, then remove from pan, if desired. Reserve 2 tablespoons drippings in pan, drain off excess if there is any.
- Add EVOO or butter to pan and add the stems, onions, leeks and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and thyme and soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Add wine and stock if using and let it absorb.
- Salt boiling water and cook pasta to 1 minute less than package directions for al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup starchy water.
- Toast nuts while pasta cooks in small skillet over moderate heat.
- Add cream to sauce, wilt the greens into stems and add a little nutmeg. Return bacon to pan. Drain pasta and add to sauce and greens with reserved water and cheese. Toss pasta 1 minute. Adjust seasoning and serve topped with chopped toasted nuts and pass more cheese at table.
- To a shaker, add wine, brandy, simple syrup, allspice and orange juice. Shake it up. Pour into a wine glass and top with seltzer.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1343 |
| Total Fat | 75 g |
| Saturated Fat | 26 g |
| Carbohydrates | 112 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 10 g |
| Sugar | 15 g |
| Protein | 40 g |
| Cholesterol | 134 mg |
| Sodium | 1472 mg |
Reviews
Delicious! I have made many times and we love it. I like to mix my bacon back in at the end so it stays a bit crispy and I don’t use pecans, but otherwise it’s perfect. The prep tends to take longer than 30 minutes though, but I love the result.
I made this with whole wheat pasta and it was delicious. Excellent Swiss chard recipe.
Very good.
I never knew Swiss Chard could taste so good. It is a better choice than Kale for my taste buds. Will definitely make and eat this dish again!!
It was delicious. I cut back a little on the bacon, but otherwise delicious. So hateful and unnecessary for people to give it a low rating without ever cooking it. If you don’t like Rach then just keep scrolling. I wanna hear from people who’ve actually tried a recipe!!
All the flavors my family love with the addition of a healthy vegetable they would not usually choose! Only variance I used was less pasta water and whole milk instead of cream. Delicious flavors!
Easy! Used whole milk, grated Parmesan cheese, and chicken stick and it was swell!
I saw Racheal make this yesterday and had to try it. I made it tonight with a few tweaks to make it a little healthier (less bacon, less pasta, half and half instead of heavy cream, and left out the nuts). It was great, and my veggie hating husband even ate it and said he liked it. I just made sure there were not a lot of the chard greens in his portion. I will definitely make this again.
Made this recipe with a few modifications.. excellent! I used rainbow Swiss chard, did not add extra butter or EVOO, only cooked in the bacon fat. I didn’t add any extra salt as it was salty enough from the bacon and grated Pecorino cheese. I also used Half & Half instead of heavy cream and it didn’t curdle and was still decadent. Will absolutely make again!
Great recipe, both of my kids loved it and my husband, who is not a big veggie eater. I made this a second time and swapped the chard for kale, that was great too.