Pasta – Page 3 – Season to Taste

Ricotta and Red Chard Cannelloni was on the chopping block on Saturday. As I started to follow the recipe, it quickly became clear that we were going to part ways. The original recipe called for twice as much ricotta and half as much chard as I thought was reasonable. And I really wanted to bring walnuts and bacon into the recipe via a topping to please the carnivore(s) in the house.

So, my version packs a lot more veggies, and offers a smoky crunchy topping of crumbled bacon and walnuts to offer some contrast of textures. The result, Ricotta and Chard Cannelloni with Walnut Cream Sauce, is something I’ll make again. This was a great way to use chard, and it was a nice departure from pasta with tomato-based sauces.

I have an idea in my head of what classic lasagne is like. Not surprisingly, it is how I remember my mother making it. But there are a lot of lasagne recipes out there. I reviewed several on epicurious.com before making this one, and I got a kick out of reading the comments on the recipes. This one for a Sausage Lasagne was described by some recipe reviewers as a delightful departure from the norm. This intrigued me, because it just about exactly how I would make lasagne if I were not consulting a recipe.

sausage lasagne

I made it a little lighter, by reducing the amount of cheese between the layers and using a pretty lean sausage, and we sure didn’t miss those extra fat grams. I also used some amazing fresh rosemary & roasted garlic pasta that I had picked up at our local Italian market. We never figured out why reviewers thought it was nontraditional, but I’d make this recipe again in a heartbeat!