A Decadent Lasagna
The wind whistled over the settlements in the afternoon, and the farmers began to set out mile-long windbreaks of eucalyptus to keep the plowed topsoil from blowing away. And this is about the way the Salinas Valley was when my grandfather brought his wife and settled in the foothills to the east of King City.
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
Inspiration
Growing a summer vegetable garden is something I always want to do. I give it a try and usually have more fails than wins. Tomatoes are always a priority, but between the summer fog and our mostly shaded backyard thriving is random. Still, I’ve planted three tomato plants again this spring, Sun Gold, Celebrity and Giant Red Cherry. (I’ve given up on Early Girl.) We’re trying a different spot, but 6-8 hours of direct sun is more of a desire than a reality. Herbs do thrive. I’m thankful for parsley, thyme, sage, oregano and rosemary. The best part of last summer’s vegetable garden was the Swiss chard. I planted a six-pack of plants that faithfully gave dinner worthy chard for an entire year. I even forgot about them during this year’s rain. Now they are bolting, going to seed. Before I say goodbye I’m harvesting the tender leaves that are growing along the stalks for salad greens and sharing this recipe from the Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen for Chard and Pancetta Lasagna with Sage.
If you like Swiss chard this is a recipe to try, if you could care less about chard but like lasagna (and think about adding more greens to your diet) this is a recipe to try. Or if you have an abundance of chard and another serving of sautéed greens is stifling, you must make this recipe. However, this is a lasagna recipe, the healthy part is the chard and onion, after that we’re talking cheese, béchamel and noodles. Oh, and pancetta! Not too much, just enough to add that wow flavor that makes this recipe irresistible.
