I knew this recipe was going to be quick to make, but really didn’t realize just how quick it was going to be. The other day I pulled down my copy of A Year In A Vegetarian Kitchen, thinking that it had been a while since Jack Bishop made a guest appearance on my dinner plate. I’ve had fairly good success with this book, and eagerly turned to the winter section where I found recipe after recipe that just sounded good to me. I bookmarked a few of them at first glance and then went back to look closer at the ones where I had all the ingredients on hand- of which, happily, there are a few.
This one called for a noodle that I don’t always have on hand, but this time I did. Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour and can be found in the Asian section of a grocery store. They are brown in color and fairly short as far as a noodle goes. If you couldn’t find Soba noodles, you could get away with just about any kind of noodle- as long as it is a bit toothsome- I would hesitate to use plain old pasta, but in a pinch, maybe linguine could fill in. Soba Noodles with Chard and Raisins piqued my interest right away because it features one of my all-time favorite vegetables- Swiss Chard. I have a few packages in the freezer yet from last year’s garden, and any opportunity to pull on out and load up on delicious greens is welcome in my book. The recipe is very straightforward- and my noodles cooked in just 3 minutes, so if you can boil a pot of water quickly, you too can make this dish in just ten minutes time. **Of course, I also used pre-blanched and frozen chard, so if you are using fresh chard, it may take you as much as 15 minutes to account for the wilting.
The chard was wilted in a pan of hot oil, and then hot red pepper flakes and garlic were added for a quick saute. Another minute or so later, I added in my raisins and chopped olives, and then once the Soba noodles were cooked and drained, I added those as well. My sole omission to the recipe was for the pine nuts called for. I didn’t have any, and figured I could use walnuts or toasted almonds instead. As it is, I forgot about the nuts completely- but the recipe didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects from it. I made this dish for myself for a quick lunch- and quick it was. In no time at all I was sitting down to a delicious bowl of Soba Noodles with Chard and Raisins. I just loved the combination of flavors here- sweet, earthy, spicy, briny, salty all in one. I did think that a pinch of lemon zest at the end would have added an even greater layer of flavor, and I also thought that I ended up using too many olives. When it says 6 olives- use 6 olives, not the random handful I tossed in. It just got to be too much brine towards the end for me.
Otherwise, at ten minutes or less for a satisfying lunch for a veg-head, this one is a keeper. Oh! About that oil… I am listing the 1/4 cup called for in the cookbook- but golly if that isn’t a lot of oil! I ended up using about 2 teaspoons in a non-stick pot- and I halved the recipe for just myself. So use what you like, but don’t feel like you need to use the whole 1/4 cup of oil.
Soba Noodles with Chard and Raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or use less)1 1/4 pound chard, stems cut into 1/2-inch dice, leaves washed, shaken dry and coarsely chopped 4 medium cloves garlic 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes Salt 12 ounces Soba noodles 1/4 cup dark raisins 6 large green olives, pitted and chopped
Directions:
Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot for cooking the noodles.
Toast the nuts in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally to turn the nuts, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the nuts to a small plate. Add the oil and chard stems to the empty pot. Cook until the stems have softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant- about 1 minute. Add the damp chard leaves and salt to taste, cover, and cook until wilted, about 6 minutes.
Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon salt and noodles to the boiling water and cook until al dente. (Follow package directions!) Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water and drain the noodles. Rinse the noodles under warm water to remove excess starch.
Add the raisins, olives, and soba noodles to the pot with the chard. Toss over low heat, adding cooking water as necessary to moisten the noodles, until the noodles are warmed, about 1 minute. Add the toasted nuts and toss. Serve immediately.
Serves 4 as a main course.