now, every winter i'm the first to admit that i crave the deep comfort of baked, big-batch dishes, but i rarely vary from the flavor and ingredients i've used in the past, often at my own peril. i know it's hard to be altogether inspired by the offerings of the produce section between december and february. i'm trying to overcome this by experimenting with the vegetables, tubers, and fruits that i so often overlook and avoid eye contact with altogether in the event that my conviction will waver during the cold months.
i think the major reason why i haven't fully embraced the trappings of the winter season is because my only recent memories attached to buying them is throwing them out, wilted and pitiful, after spending a month slowly decaying under other withering produce.
now, every winter i'm the first to admit that i crave the deep comfort of baked, big-batch dishes, but i rarely vary from the flavor and ingredients i've used in the past, often at my own peril. i know it's hard to be altogether inspired by the offerings of the produce section between december and february. i'm trying to overcome this by experimenting with the vegetables, tubers, and fruits that i so often overlook and avoid eye contact with altogether in the event that my conviction will waver during the cold months.
now, every winter i'm the first to admit that i crave the deep comfort of baked, big-batch dishes, but i rarely vary from the flavor and ingredients i've used in the past, often at my own peril. i know it's hard to be altogether inspired by the offerings of the produce section between december and february. i'm trying to overcome this by experimenting with the vegetables, tubers, and fruits that i so often overlook and avoid eye contact with altogether in the event that my conviction will waver during the cold months.
i think the major reason why i haven't fully embraced the trappings of the winter season is because my only recent memories attached to buying them is throwing them out, wilted and pitiful, after spending a month slowly decaying under other withering produce.
in short, i haven't treated winter harvests very well, and i'm trying to change that.
i'm starting with swiss chard. i'm not kidding, this is the first time i've purchased and used swiss chard. i've bought it so many times and every time it has met a horrible end at the bottom of the produce bin, expelling both foul odors and brown-ish green liquid. how triumphant, then, that this was so delicious!
for the filling, i used 1/2 of a big container of ricotta cheese, so you can just use 1 smaller container. i used a little less than a bunch of swiss chard (maybe 5 big leaves?) but i'm including a full bunch in the recipe, because i really should have used the whole thing. also, the tomato sauce i used was jarred, and i used Classico Organic. I got it at costco for a great price, and it is by far the tastiest jarred sauce i've ever tasted. it doesn't taste like ketchup and isn't overly seasoned with garbage herbs and whatever. it's just a nice base that actually tastes like tomato sauce. yes, i have homemade tomato sauce in the freezer (usually), and yes i'd normally be demanding that you make your own sauce using crushed tomatoes, but come on. i'm using swiss chard. i deserve a little leniency.
so, here's the recipe:filling:
1 egg
swiss chard
2 handfuls of spinach, washed
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
green onion, garlic, herbs (oregano, basil, and parsley)
1 tbsp lemon juice
romano cheese (1 cup)
ricotta cheese
lemon zest of 1/2 lemon
salt, pepper, nutmeg
chopped fresh parsley and basil
sauce:
jar of sauce, plus an equal amount of water
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tsps dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper
sauce:
heat a pan on medium with some oil. add some red pepper flakes and chopped onion when the heat gets warm, follow with garlic and dried oregano. saute until the onions get tender, about 5 minutes. when you're ready, add a jar of sauce or an equal amount of homemade and let bubble away for 10 minutes (the most labor-intensive parts are over, so now would be a good time to start with the filling), checking for seasoning and adding as you see fit. any herb or seasoning blend you normally use in marinara sauce is fine. fill your jar up with water and dump in, letting simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or so. done!
filling:
chop 1 bunch of green onions a little larger than you would normally chop them.
smash and chop 3-4 cloves of garlic.
rinse and dry off the leaves of the swiss chard. if you're laying it with the stem facing you, cut a V on either side of the big stem to cut it out, separating the white from the deep green leaves.
cut up the greens into relatively large pieces; it's going to all wilt, so the size is not important.
heat a large, heavy-bottomed pan with olive oil and throw in 1 tsp red pepper flakes. let it slowly heat to medium-high as you chop up the stems. when you're ready, add them into the pan along with some salt, pepper, and oregano.
add the green onions and garlic and stir around for a minute, then throw in the chard leaves and spinach, and the lemon juice. throw a lid on the pan and let the lemon juice steam everything for a minute before taking off the heat.
begin adding the last 4 ingredients of the filling to a food processor, then spoon in the swiss chard mixture, trying to tap out as much of the excess liquid as possible. blend, then spoon out and taste for seasoning. season generously. add the egg after you're sure the seasoning is correct and throw in the fridge to firm up overnight.
assembling:
take the filling out of the fridge and dab excess moisture off the surface, spoon into a gallon-sized ziploc bag and seal, pushing out any air. cut a hole in one of the corners and you're ready to roll.
boil the cannelloni for seven minutes. double check this time with the package directions. if the box says al dente cooked in 8-9 minutes, seven is the magic time. strain very well and immediately dump out onto a large cookie sheet to cool.
take a 9x13 pan and ladle a spoonful of sauce across the bottom. fill the cannellonis until the filling starts pushing back at you (~75% full), then start laying your little lovelies along the pan. pour all of the remaining sauce overtop, throw in a couple of basil leaves if you have them lying around, and cover with however much cheese you'd like. i won't judge.
i topped with a layer of either parmesan or romano, and i'd be a bad friend if i didn't recommend that you do the same.
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