Easter weekend

Saturday, March 30, 2013

It's Easter weekend and the house is full of family.  My oldest daughter is home from university and my mom drove in this morning.  Tomorrow, my sister and her family will be helping us celebrate.  We'll have an egg hunt, just as we have every year since the girls were born.  My youngest daughter was about eight months old the first year she participated.  She wasn't sure what those colourful objects were, but she sure loved putting them in her mouth to check them out!  And I'll never forget the year my oldest daughter dressed as the Easter Bunny to meet my mother when she arrived.  She lovingly crafted ears, feet and a tail out of construction paper and hopped to the front door when the doorbell rang.  She was pleased that her grandmother loved the costume, but a little surprised that she didn't mistake her for the actual Easter Bunny.

Many of us will be eating a big Easter meal this weekend, so let me present a lighter alternative in case you're feeling full.  I fell in love with this recipe the minute I saw it posted on Joanne's marvellously entertaining blog, Eats Well With Others.  Once the peppers are roasted it's ready in no time - a perfect meal to serve when your whole family is home.



Pizza Rustica Pasta
(adapted from Eats Well With Others

2 medium red bell peppers
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 lb swiss chard, trimmed and thinly sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
12 ounces mushrooms, chopped
8 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
2 ounces gruyere, shredded
1 ounce parmesan cheese, grated
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
10 ounces whole wheat fettuccine or spaghetti

Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and discard the seeds and membranes.  Place pepper halves skin-side up on a foil-lined baking sheet and flatten with your hands.  Broil until charred and black on the outsides.  Place into a closed container for 5 minutes.  Peel skin off and discard.  Coarsely chop pepper flesh.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add 1 Tbsp oil and swirl to coat the pan.  Add chard to the pan and cook for 1 minute or until wilted.  Place chard and bell peppers in a large bowl.  Add the remaining tablespoon oil, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add mushrooms and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and soft.  Add to the vegetable mixture along with the ricotta, gruyere, parmesan, thyme, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.

Cook pasta to desired consistency according to package directions, reserving 1 cup pasta water.  Drain pasta and toss with vegetable/cheese mixture, adding half of the reserved water.  Stir to combine and add more water as needed to create desired sauce consistency.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

31 comments:

Bonnie said...

May you ha e a beautiful Easter celebration with your family.

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

How nice that you are enjoying the company of family this Easter. Always enjoy the recipes you share :)

Anonymous said...

Happy Easter! Great pasta interpretation of pizza rustica!

Belinda said...

Happy Easter! Sounds like a fun time!!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Hope you have a great day with your family. We're enjoying a quiet day at home. Thanks for the great recipe.

Valerie Gamine said...

Pizza + pasta = joy! (Especially when Gruyere and ricotta cheese are tossed into the mix!)

Happy Easter to you and your family! It's always fun to reminisce during holiday get-togethers - try not to embarrass your eldest daughter too much by recounting childhood antics. (My mom did the same when I came home from college!) :D xo

Angie's Recipes said...

Happy Easter, Beth!
The pasta looks very tasty.

Inger @ Art of Natural Living said...

Happy Easter Beth! It sounds like you are having a wonderful time! Your recipe looks perfect for those of us recovering from days of dietary indiscretions!

Kitchen Riffs said...

Great looking recipe! I'm kinda sorta working up a pizza pasta recipe (heavy on the pepperoni) but I like the simplicity of this one. I love the Easter bunny story! Your daughter must have looked adorable. Happy Easter!

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Happy Easter, Beth! Enjoy the time with your lovely family! Great pasta dish...we'd love it, too!!!

Barbara said...

What a lovely Easter you are having....surrounded by loved ones. I'm sending you a big bunny hug!
Joanne's recipe looks a delight...light and healthy. A perfect foil for all the naughty jellybeans. :)

Unknown said...

Sounds like a fun weekend Beth! Happy Easter ;-)
I want to make more pasta,especially with lots of veggies-thanks for the recipe!

Paula Montenegro said...

All the goodness of a pizza rustica in a pasta dish, nice! Happy Easter with the family!

Food Gal said...

Easter is all about family and the bunny, of course. Hope yours was delicious and memorable.

Laurie@The Baking Bookworm said...

Oh Beth, this sounds delicious! You cannot go wrong with three kinds of cheese in a dish. :)

We had our Easter celebration with my family yesterday. All 10 grandchildren were present as well as my parents who finally returned from Florida. With 18 of us at one table it's always chaos ... but a good kind of chaos. Happy Easter!!

Cathleen said...

That sounds nice to have all the family together. And this is the perfect dish to share!

Jemi Fraser said...

Yummy! My whole family would like this one - thanks! :)

Choc Chip Uru @ Go Bake Yourself said...

Delicious Easter feast my friend :D

Cheers
Choc Chip Uru

Cindy said...

This looks like the perfect Easter Dinner. Love it, so many wonderful flavors.

Katerina said...

Perfect for detoxing after Easter weekend! Our Easter is on the 5th of May!!

Monet said...

It sounds like you had a lovely Easter, and I think light dish is just perfect. What a great way to welcome spring. Thank you so much for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I hope you had a wonderful Easter. A light meal like this is good to have after overeating on a holiday.

Julie said...

Your Easter weekend sounds great! I love Joanne's blog, this is a great recipe.

Danielle's Heartfelt Home said...

This is a perfect Springtime meal! Looks delicious!
Glad you had such a wonderful Easter weekend!

Happy Spring! xo

Andrea_TheKitchenLioness said...

Beth, I hope that you and your family spend a fabulous Easter Weekend and enjoy delicious foods such as this wonderful recipe of yours for Pizza Rustica Pasta, it looks and sounds healthy and delicious and the colors of the vegetables are so bright!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Joanne said...

I'm so glad you liked this!! It really was such a tasty pasta. :) Hope you had a lovely Easter!!

Vi said...

The pasta looks great :) I'm glad your family was able to be together! Hope it was a very happy Easter!

grace said...

so much cheese, so little time. happy easter, indeed!

Nas said...

Happy Easter! Sounds yummy recipes! Thanks for sharing!

Nas

Elaine said...

That is such a cute story about your daughter making her Easter Bunny costume. It sounds like you had a great Easter. Your salad looks light and wonderful.

amy (fearless homemaker) said...

What a wonderful easter it sounds like you had! And that pasta looks SO good - absolutely my type of meal!

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