Campanelle with Acorn Squash and Swiss Chard

This dish only had about half the chard I wanted because when I got home from work, I discovered my husband had given some of it to our bunnies. It was still delicious though and I don’t blame them. They are pretty hard to resist.

This is a creamy, rich and flavorful dish I just made up last night. I’m sorry for the lack of measurements on most ingredients. I was only half sure I was going to blog about it till I knew how it was going to turn out.

It was super yummy though so here ya go:

Campanelle with Acorn Squash and Swiss Chard

• 1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4 “ cubed
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch Swiss Chard – leaves removed from stalks. Chop leaves and stalks separately
• ¼ onion, diced
• olive oil
• butter
• red pepper flakes
• black pepper
• salt
• anchovy paste
• sage
• rosemary
• breadcrumbs
• nutmeg
• ½ box campanelle or other pasta
• half and half
• Parmesan

Preheat oven to 400º.

Put a pot of salted pasta water on to boil.

Chop the acorn squash in half, scrape seeds out and cut the tough skin off with a paring knife. This is kind of hard since the outside it ridged. Try to get as much as you can though because this skin is really hard and you’ll have to pick it out of your mouth if you miss a chunk or two like I did.

Place the squash on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss with your hands till oil coast every side. Spread out so they are not crowding each other and season with salt and pepper. Put in the oven and roast, turning occasionally till golden brown and cooked through.  I think this took about 40 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Heat butter and olive oil to a hot pan. Add the chopped garlic, onions and chard stems. Sautee till soft and translucent. Add a squeeze of anchovy paste and a pinch of red pepper flakes.  Stir till the paste has dissolved. Add the squash and season with nutmeg, sage and rosemary. Add more butter and let it melt. Toss in the chard leaves and allow to wilt. Stir a bit and add a splash of half and half. Stir and let cook a few minutes.

Taste a piece of squash so that you can correct the seasonings. I added more sage and nutmeg at this point.

Scoop the cooked pasta out of the boiling water and into the pan, allowing some of the pasta water to dribble into the pan and thin the sauce a bit.

When it’s all in, toss together until mixed and toss with a few handfuls of breadcrumbs.

Remove from heat. Serve topped with parm. Mine was amazing.

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