Chard and chicken sausage pasta
Chard has almost as many vitamins — K, A and C — as it does colors. This nutritional heavyweight sports stalks in a rainbow of hues including red, orange, yellow, pink and white. Look for dark green leaves and brightly colored stems. Avoid any that are dried out, split or brown. Chard can be eaten fresh or cooked.
This recipe first appeared on the Kaiser Permanente Washington food and fitness blog — visit for more healthy and delicious recipes.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 bunch chard (Swiss, red or rainbow)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine, water or chicken stock
- 8 ounces sweet Italian chicken sausage, links or ground (if using links, discard casings)
- 12 ounces whole wheat or brown-rice pasta (penne, shells or similar)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper
Directions
- Cook pasta according to package.
- Wash chard, leave slightly damp, and chop. Remove stems and cut leaves into strips.
- Heat a skillet on medium high. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sausage.
- Break up sausage and cook about 10 minutes. Set sausage aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in skillet on medium for 1 minute.
- Add chard and a dash of salt. Sauté until wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Return sausage to skillet for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add wine, water or stock and bring to a boil, scraping bottom of the pan. Reduce liquid until almost gone. Turn off heat.
- Toss pasta with chard and sausage.
- Add cheese and pepper.
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 350
- Total fat: 11 g
- Saturated fat: 1.5 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 46 g
- Dietary fiber: 6 g
- Total sugars: 3 g
- Protein: 16 g