Bongiorno!  Here is a Meatless Monday recipe that heralds from the Umbria region of Italy. Each region has its own unique cuisine and signature pastas. A traditional Umbrian pasta is a handmade Strangozzi, which in English means big shoelace, so you can use any pasta from a rigatoni to spaghetti for this dish. If time permits homemade pasta is always better. Umbria is located in the central region of Italy and one of their traditional dishes is pasta with swiss chard and almond pesto. While this sounds rather posh, it is incredibly quick to make.

Ingredients to prepare Pasta:
• 500g of pasta
• 2 bunches of swiss chard
• 2 cloves of garlic sliced thinly
• Salt
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• Grated cheese

Directions:
Put your pasta water on to boil and remember to salt well.  Clean the Swiss chard and remove the rib and then cut into bite-sized pieces. Blanch the Swiss chard in the pasta water.  Put 2 tbsp of olive oil into a large sauce pan on medium low. Sautee garlic on low until golden, do not burn. With a slotted spoon, remove Swiss chard from pot and place in sauce pan with garlic. Once the Swiss chard is removed from the pasta water, bring water to a boil again and add pasta. Continue to sauté the Swiss chard in the garlic and oil on medium low heat.  Remove 1 cup of pasta water from the pot before draining the pasta which has been cooked to your desired consistency.  Incorporate the drained pasta into the sauce pan with garlic, oil and Swiss chard and toss (as the Swiss chard has tendency to clump). Remove from heat and add pesto sauce (directions below). Add pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce. Add grated cheese and serve with side salad with balsamic dressing. This recipe serves four and can be adjusted as needed. 

Ingredients for Almond Pesto
• 3 cups loosely packed fresh Basil leaves
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/3 C almonds
• 1/3 to ½ cup olive oil, as needed for texture
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine basil, garlic and almonds in food processor or blender.  With motor running, gradually add oil to desired thickness.  Season with salt and pepper to taste

Recipe notes: you can substitute Swiss chard with spinach or broccoli but Swiss chard is the favorite in Umbria. Some of the basil in the pesto can be replaced with parsley or mint. Any extra pesto can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge, just top it off olive oil.

The texture of the pasta combined with the complexity of the sauce makes this pasta dish quite extraordinary. Although the flavors of this gourmet dish are multilayered it is very easy to make and can be done last minute. If you’d like, you can add a wine from the Umbrian region like a Sagrantino with its intense flavor that will stand up and complement the dish. Buon (vegetarian) appetito!

Tags: carbon footprint, Climate Change, eco-friendly recipe, eco-vegetarian, eco-vegetarianism, Everyday Food, Global Warming, healthy recipes, heart healthy recipes, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School, Meatless Monday recipes, Pasta with Almond Pesto recipe, Pasta with Swiss Chard recipe, planet forward, plant based meals, recipes, Vegetarian, vegetarian cooking, vegetarian recipes, vegetarianism