Rainbow Chard Pasta Sauce

I have so much rainbow chard in my garden so I'm thinking up lots of ways to use it. Today I'm making a rainbow chard pasta sauce fresh from the garden!

Fresh from the garden

Freshly picked chard! I will rinse this off now in a bucket so that I can save the water for my pot plants as it is rainwater and precious now that summer has begun!

Chopping

Chop the stem parts finely if you want to use them so they will cook properly.

Chopped leaves

You don't have to be as fussy when chopping the leaves but be sure to discard any really tough stems if you find any. This pan is very full but it will cook down. I will only add about1 cups of water. I don't add salt but if you usually add salt to your veg then do so or wait to add salt when you make this up in a recipe.

Cooked and drained

This is the cooked and drained product. It really cooks down a lot! You can freeze it into small plastic bags for later use in sauces and soups. When you defrost it drains off any more liquid that comes out as it thaws.

Cooking onion for the sauce

Chop two onions and fry them in a little vegetable oil with two cloves of crushed garlic and some good salt. I like Australian lake salt, which is harvested from a 4 million year old natural salt lake situated in the remote regions of western Australia. 
Add about half the cooked spinach and continue to fry for about five minutes whilst stirring to make sure it does not catch.

Add tomato sauce

I am quite a fan at present of Woolworths Macro Brand Organic Diced Italian tomatoes so add a tin (I freeze my own tomatoes to use in recipes like this but have almost run out!). In summer I will show you my easy ways to make tasty tomato bases to freeze to add to things.
Add one sachet of tomato paste. I use the Leggos no added salt ones. I use the sachets because I found I wasted too much if I bought the jars!

Cooking

Continue to cook over a low heat, stirring often as it might catch. Taste it now to see if it needs more salt to your taste but here is the secret ingredient... Add two level teaspoons of sugar! Yes I was skeptical at first too! Stir it through and now taste it again. It just takes away the super sharpness of the tomatoes.

Pecorino Cheese

This is a very nice chilli pecorino that I am going to use but any parmesan or pecorino grated or shaved is your choice.
Now cook some of your favourite pasta, top it with a generous spoon of the sauce and top with cheese!

Dinner is served!

 Very easy to make and very tasty! It's also ideal for vegetarians and even vegans if you don't use cheese.

Enjoy!