Rye Pasta with Cream Cheese Sauce and Chard
Homemade pasta becomes accessible with this recipe, which doesn’t require a pasta machine. If you can’t find rye flour, use all-purpose in its place (though you’ll lose its iconic tangy, complex flavor). The sauce here tends to get sticky as it sits and cools, so do your best to eat it while it’s hot. If you must reheat, save some additional pasta water during cooking to loosen the sauce.
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups rye flour
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 5 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 shallot chopped
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 bunch Swiss chard stemmed and sliced into thin ribbons
- ½ cup cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- Flaky sea salt to taste
Instructions
- ►Combine flours in a wide mound on a clean work surface and make a large well in the middle. Crack eggs into well and slowly incorporate flours. Knead dough until smooth, sticky, and elastic, about 10 to 15 minutes. If dough seems dry, add small splashes of water until it comes together. Wrap dough in plastic and rest at room temperature 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- ►Cut dough into quarters. Roll out one quarter at a time on a floured surface, keeping remaining quarters wrapped. Once dough is nearly translucent, stop rolling. Repeat with remaining quarters.
- ►Once all dough is rolled out, cut dough into wide noodles (think fettucine). Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add rye pasta and cook until al dente, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove pasta from water and place in a bowl. Do not dump out pasta water.
- ►Meanwhile, warm olive oil over medium-low heat in a skillet. Add shallot and cook until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add chard and cook until just wilted, about 5 minutes. Add pasta to skillet.
- ►Roughly chop cream cheese and add to skillet with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and salt. Add splashes of pasta water and stir until a creamy sauce forms. Serve immediately.
Styled by Kendra Smith.
Rebecca Haley-Park
Rebecca Haley-Park is culture's former editor and resident stinky cheese cheerleader. A native New Englander, she holds a BFA in creative writing from University of Maine at Farmington.
