new ingredient: Swiss Chard

I have been looking for a reason to taste Swiss chard. I had heard for a long time it is very similar to spinach, but holds up a bit better in the cooking process. I have to say I was more than pleased with the result. It is crispier and has more of an earthy flavor.

Get a head of Swiss chard and trim off all the leaves and discard the stems. Chop the leaves up into smaller bits.

Then chop up one large onion and 2 large leeks.

Then heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a frypan. Cook the leeks and onion up until they become translucent. Throw in 3-4 cloves of garlic minced. Then chop up 4 chicken sausage links and add that in. Cook those up for a bit until they get a little crispy around the edges. Add in 2 cans of crushed tomatoes.

Then squeeze an orange into the mix as well. I know this doesn't make a whole of sense right now. But the slight taste of orange will compliment the Swiss chard nicely.

Then add in some cooked pasta. I used ditalini here. Throw in your Swiss chard bits and mix it thoroughly. You don't need to cook the Swiss chard ahead of time as the stirring process will heat it enough and almost cook it to the perfect texture.

Enjoy !!!!