Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 3 oz chard (85g, weight without stems - about 1/2 bunch)
  • 3/4 oz basil (20g, leaves only)
  • 1 oz almonds (30g)
  • 1/2 lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup creme fraiche (60g)
  • 1 oz grated parmesan (30g, plus a little more to top)
  • 1/4 cup virgin olive oil (60ml (or extra virgin))
  • 1 onion (small, diced)
  • 1 red pepper (diced relatively small)
  • 1 zucchini (courgette, diced relatively small)
  • 8 oz orzo pasta (225g)
  • 4 oz mozzarella (115g)

Instruction

  • Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
  • Remove the leaves from the chard and blanche them in a pan of boiling water - cook them for around 1-2 minutes until soft and leaves darken slightly. Remove the leaves, allow to cool and drain well by squeezing out excess liquid.
  • While chard is cooling, heat a little olive oil in a skillet/ frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion for a minute then add the zucchini. After another couple minutes add the red pepper.
  • Meanwhile cook the pasta in a pan of boiling water with a little salt until the pasta is just cooked.
  • While everything is cooking, squeeze out any excess liquid from the chard, roughly chop then put the chard and basil in a food processor and pulse to break up well. Then add the almonds and lemon zest, pulse again to chop and mix, then add the creme fraiche and parmesan. Finally add the olive oil in a steady stream with the food processor running and pulse until smooth and well blended together.
  • Once the pasta is cooked, the vegetables should be as well, so drain the pasta and add the vegetables and the sauce and mix well.
  • Tear/cut the mozzarella in to small pieces (see note) and add, mix through then transfer to an oven dish. You can also mix everything directly in the dish. Sprinkle some extra parmesan on top and bake for 20-30 minutes until lightly brown (20 will be slightly crisp, 30 a bit darker and more crispy, cook as long as you prefer).
  • Serve while still hot.