Simple, practical, and full of everyday flavour, Farfalle with Swiss Chard Pesto is a vegan, vegetarian American, Italian main course made with farfalle, big Swiss chard leaves and soft ribs, and of garlic in about 20 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 15 minutes
  • Total time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 2 servings
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: American, Italian

Ingredients

  • 1.5-2 cups farfalle (cooked al-dente with salt (or any pasta of choice. Use gf pasta for gf))
  • 5 big Swiss chard leaves and soft ribs
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil or organic canola oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes or black pepper
  • 1/2 cup packed basil (or use 2 Tablespoons basil pesto)
  • 1/4 cup raw cashews
  • 1-2 Tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup water (coz my blender needs some water to blend well. and hence made about 1 cup of pesto)

Method

  1. Heat olive oil/canola in a pan on low-medium heat, add garlic and chopped Swiss chard. Cook covered on low for 4-6 minutes or until the chard just about starts to wilt.
  2. Blend with basil, pepper, Extra virgin olive oil cashews and a little water if needed. The pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, without any change in color.
  3. Cook pasta, and serve topped with the pesto.
  4. Garnish with some powdered Raw cashew mixed with nutritional yeast and pepper flakes.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.