Whole-Wheat Pasta with Sausage and Swiss Chard
Level: Easy | Yield: 4 servings | Total Time: 30 min | Prep: 15 min | Cook: 15 min
Nutritional Analysis Per Serving
- Calories: 440
- Total Fat: 18 grams
- Saturated Fat: 7 grams
- Cholesterol: 25 milligrams
- Sodium: 760 milligrams
- Carbohydrates: 52 grams
- Dietary Fiber: 7 grams
- Protein: 19 grams
- Sugar: 6 grams
Wellness Tip: Don't discard your Swiss chard stems! They bring extra texture to the pasta sauce, along with additional antioxidants and vitamin K.
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 8 ounces whole-wheat penne
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 hot or regular Italian sausage links (about 4 ounces), casings removed
- 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch rainbow Swiss chard, roughly chopped (stems and leaves separated)
- 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 14-ounce can cherry tomatoes
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.
- In the meantime, warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the onion and chard stems; cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until just softened, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the tomatoes start to break down, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chard leaves to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add the cooked pasta, the reserved cooking water, and 1/4 cup of cheese; toss everything together until well coated. Season with salt and pepper. Serve each portion topped with the remaining cheese.
Photograph by Ryan Dausch, Courtesy of Recipe Iseasy Magazine
