All the weather changes we’ve had the last few days have had me feeling a little under the weather, unfortunately. I hate cold and damp on a good day, but throw in a little bit of fluctuating temperatures and it’s nearly a guarantee that I will get a cold or flu from it. Almost never fail. Anyhow, on top of that, today Miss Thing wanted to go to the mall after school to shop for a birthday present for her friend who’s birthday party is tomorrow. It was the first opportunity that we really had to do it – and also the last, since she likely won’t have time tomorrow to go shopping.

Of course, in the three hours she was there shopping, she managed to find herself two types of mascara, some lip gloss, eyeliner and eyeshadow – but no present for her friend. I was thrilled, I can assure you. Then there was also some confusion about what “meet me in front of” means, as in perhaps it meant “wander around inside the store and maybe I’ll be able to find you ten minutes and several text messages after we were supposed to meet”. Anyhow, all of this venting is just a long way of saying that when I came home, I was really aggravated and tired and not really feeling up to anything very involved for dinner.

Fortunately, I happened to already have some prepared pesto which I had planned on using anyways, which made life a little easier. I had been kicking around the idea of a pizza or something, but decided that a pasta dish would be easier for tonight anyways. At any rate, this dish was just perfect for both the weather and my patience level tonight. The ricotta gave it a hearty, creamy feeling. I haven’t really used ricotta as much lately as I could, I think. I picked up a tub the other day, though, and I think I’m going to try and incorporate it more – it’s not really so tasty on it’s own, but it definitely brings a lot of depth and dimension to dishes when used as an accent.

The serrano ham can easily be left out if you wanted to make a vegetarian version – and just about any greens will work. I used Chard, because I had it on hand, but I don’t think it matters much – you could easily use spinach, kale, etc… Next time I would maybe throw a dash of lemon juice in, but even that wouldn’t really be neccessary, I just like a little bit of tang.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Pasta
• 1 bunch Chard; stems removed, cut in to ribbons
• 1 large Onion; diced
• 4 cloves Garlic; finely minced
• 5 slices Serrano Ham; roughly chopped
• 1 cup Chard Pesto or other prepared Pesto Sauce
• 1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
• 1/4 cup White Wine
• 2 tbs Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt

Method:

• Cook the Pasta in Heavily salted, boiling water until al dente
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil
• Add the onions and saute until translucent
• Stir in the Garlic and the Chard, and toss to combine with the onions
• Cook until greens turn bright and become tender
• Clear a spot in the pan of chard and place the ham in it.
• Crisp the Serrano just a little bit, 1-2 minutes, and then remove pan from heat
• When the pasta is al dente, drain and return to pot
• Toss the chard, ham, pesto, wine and ricotta with the pasta. Serve immediately.