Whole-Wheat Penne With Escarole, Potatoes and Fontina Cheese
Every winter about this time, I get bored with the limited seasonal produce choices. That’s when I turn to quick-cooking escarole, a mild endive related to radicchio and chicory, often overlooked in a supermarket’s salad section.
Borrowing from Italy’s cucina povera, the combination of pasta and potatoes makes budget-friendly comfort food. Farro (an ancient relative of wheat) or whole-wheat penne adds earthy texture, flavor and color to this rustic dish. Serve it with a refreshing salad tossed with oil, vinegar and salt.
Be sure to cut the potatoes into small enough pieces so they cook with the noodles in the same amount of time. Part of comfort food is having fewer pots to wash.
Bring a large covered pot of water to boil.
In a skillet large enough to hold all the ingredients, cook the onion in the olive oil over medium heat until tender, 3 to 5 minutes.
While the onion cooks, wash--but don’t dry--the escarole and cut it into roughly 1-inch-wide strips, discarding the stem ends (you should have about 8 cups).
Add the minced garlic to the pan, stir and cook 1 minute, then add the escarole and a little salt. Stir then cook, covered, over medium-low heat, until tender, about 10 minutes.
Generously salt the boiling water, add the pasta and potatoes, and boil until tender, about 10 minutes. Loosely drain the pasta and potatoes and add them to the vegetables. Mix, add salt to taste, and season generously with pepper. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the cheese until melted and creamy.
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