Orecchiette with Sautéed Greens and Scallion Sauce

By BobD

Chef Way:

Richard Reddington fills homemade ravioli with ricotta, mascarpone, arugula, spinach and Swiss chard, then serves them in a green garlic-and-white wine sauce.

Easy Way:

Toss store-bought orecchiette with arugula and chard (both are tastier than spinach) and make the sauce with scallions instead of green garlic, which can be hard to find.

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound orecchiette pasta
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 bunch of scallions, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• One 5-ounce bag of baby arugula
• 6 large Swiss chard leaves, stems and central ribs discarded, leaves coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese

Preparation

Step 1

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the orecchiette until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the sliced scallions and garlic and cook over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the white wine and cook over moderate heat until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of water and puree the mixture in a blender until smooth. Season the scallion sauce with salt and pepper.

Wipe out the pasta pot and heat the olive oil in it. Add the arugula and Swiss chard; cook over high heat until wilted, 5 minutes. Add the pasta, scallion sauce and the reserved pasta cooking water and simmer, tossing and stirring, until the sauce is thick, about 3 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone, season the pasta with salt and pepper and serve.