Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Swiss Chard and Pecorino Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 bunches Swiss chard, trimmed and chopped (about 14 cups)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper
• 8 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Pecorino cheese
• 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the chard and saute until it wilts, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, wine, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until the tomatoes begin to break down and the chard is very tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season the chard mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the spaghetti. Add the spaghetti to the chard mixture and toss to combine.

Transfer the pasta to serving bowls. Sprinkle the olives, cheese, and pine nuts and serve.

Recommended Wine: 2001 Clerico Trevigne

Origin: Alba, Piedmont

Grape: Barbera

Wine Notes: This wine is from the north in the Piedmont region of Italy. I

chose a Barbera because I needed a wine to to stand up to the bitterness of the swiss chard and the strong taste of the pecorino cheese. This wine's texture is smooth and the color is a dark ruby red. Its bouquet is scorched earth and blackberries with a kiss of oak. The pasta's flavors do not fight with the taste of the wine but is an explosion of flavor every time you take a bite of spaghetti or a sip of wine.

Wine Pouring Notes: Do not fill above the curve of the bowl, never more

than 1/2 full, that way you can get a true sense of the wine's aroma and a

better sense of its bouquet. To get the full experience of the wine, place

your nose into the glass and take in the wine's beautiful aroma.