Pennette with Swiss chard ragu from Molto Gusto: Easy Italian Cooking by Mario Batali and Mark Ladner

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Notes about this recipe

  • shapije1 on March 02, 2026

    This dish requires significant alteration to make it more palatable. We cooked it thinking it would present as a lighter, vegetable-forward pasta but the resulting dish ate very rich and heavy (with a very dominant butter note). Would consider doubling the Swiss chard so that it played a bigger role, and/or changing the ratio of butter to lighten the dish.

  • Breadcrumbs on July 05, 2011

    p. 177 - This pasta is differs from chard pasta dishes I’ve made in the past in that butter is a key component in the sauce. Sauce is made by combining EVOO, onion, garlic and chard in a large pan over med-high heat and stirring until chard begins to soften at which point chard is seasoned, water is added then the heat is lowered, pot is covered and supposed to simmer for 20 mins until the chard is very tender. Mine was quite tender in under 10 mins. Butter is stirred into the chard before the penne, some pasta water and Parmesan. Pasta is served, topped w breadcrumbs and, additional Parmesan. I didn’t really have a sauce so to speak as the noodles seemed to soak up all the liquids in the pan however the dish was flavourful so I decided not to add more pasta water and risk diluting the flavours. This is not a dish w big, bold flavours however it is a well seasoned dish that allows garden fresh chard to shine. The breadcrumbs add a wonderful textural element with their toasty crunch.

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