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Jul 11, 2018 By Jennifer Garofalo jgarofalo@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read

Last year, we grew enough dinosaur kale and zucchini to feed the entire neighborhood.

People who stopped by to see us (or walked by, for that matter) probably felt like they were reverse Halloween’d — tricked instead of treated — because I couldn’t give it away quickly enough.

While both are coming along nicely (and in appropriate servings) this year, we find ourselves in a similar situation with Swiss chard. I threw some of last yearÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ seeds behind some pea plants when we put the garden in this year.

I hoped that something would come up, but didn’t expect it would. I was definitely wrong. Behind six pea plants sits two rows of chard thatÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ grown to more than half the length of my arm.

Don’t get me wrong, having a lot of veggies — particularly chard — is a good problem to have.

The lovely leafy green is packed with vitamins K, A and C, and is a source of magnesium, potassium, iron and fiber.

So far, we’ve sautéed it, creamed it and made it into the tortilla for enchiladas. It also works wonderfully in a pasta dish where you’d normally use spinach, which is how the kiddos prefer it.

The dish below has made more than one appearance on our table. ItÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ a riff on a dish my husband threw together using peas in place of the chard. While itÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ a veggie-only dish, it would be absolutely delicious with some cooked sweet sausage or some shrimp.

Swiss Chard Pasta

1 pound pasta of your choice (we use penne)

1 pound of Swiss chard

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup chopped parsley

½ cup reserved pasta cooking water

1 lemon, zest and juice

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Bring salted water to a boil for the pasta, and cook it according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the water after itÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ cooked, though you’ll likely only need to use ¼ cup of it. While the pasta is boiling, clean the chard and strip it from the thick stem. In batches, roll it up into bundles and cut it into ribbons. It looks like a ton, but wilts way down. Over medium heat, sauté the garlic and lemon zest. Add the chard in batches, if necessary, and cook until it is wilted down. Add lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. If you’re not a fan of raw tomatoes (one of the kids isn’t) toss them in and let them warm a bit. If you like them firm, you’ll toss them in at the end. Toss the pasta with the chard mix and stir in ¼ cup of the reserved pasta cooking water. If you need additional moisture, add the remaining ¼ cup. Top the pasta with Parmesan cheese and parsley.