Green pasta & an overload of citrus

I am now the proud owner of a computer box full of grapefruit. One of Mike's co-workers has an overachieving grapefruit tree and he volunteered to take some of them off her hands, so after eating dinner last night (I will admit, I bought dinner out and brought it home, I was working until after 7) Mike announced he had a gift for me in the car. A moment later he came back in the house huffing and grunting as he carried in this big box and set it down on the table to show me what he had found. He was so proud! While he thinks he can eat them all, I'm not so sure. Thankfully, my mom will be here in 2 weeks so I'm going to enlist her help in teaching me how to can so I can preserve all the great citrus we are getting for free and really cheap right now to eat later in the year when all the citrus trees are back to just being green. Speaking of green . . . .

I had a big bunch of what I believe to be chard, but a variety I've never had before from this week's farm share. It had larger, smoother leaves than what I'm used to but had that same distinct flavor. I also had some leftover broccoli from a veggie tray I had made last weekend, so I decided to do a pasta with greens dish. I don't have a name for it other than "green pasta", but here's the recipe:

1 large bunch of chard
1 head broccoli
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t red pepper flakes
1 T olive oil

Begin by trimming the stems out of the chard and chopping them rather fine. Then roll the leaves like long logs and cut in slices to make ribbons. Trim the broccoli into medium sized florets (you can also peel and chop the stems and use them as well, they are very tasty). Once the veggies are prepped, add the olive oil, garlic, and pepper flakes to a very large fry pan over medium heat until fragrant. Add the chard stems and cook for about 5 minutes until just starting to get tender. Add the chard leaves and allow to cook down. Meanwhile, if you like your broccoli well cooked, give them a quick steam for about 3 minutes in the microwave.

Pot of water for cooking pasta
3 - 4 servings of whole wheat pasta
olive oil and salt for the pasta pot

While the chard cooks down start the water boiling with the olive oil and salt. Cook the pasta according to package directions.

1 egg
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (I suggest basil and oregano)

Break the egg into the bottom of a large serving bowl. Strain the pasta once it is al dente, reserving 1 C of the cooking liquid. Place the hot pasta over the egg and mix well so the heat of the pasta softly cooks the egg. Toss the fresh herbs into the hot pasta, season with salt & pepper to taste.

Once the chard is getting tender (it will take 10 - 15 minutes) add the broccoli to the pan and continue to stir adding some of the pasta water as needed to help tenderize the greens (don't let them get wet, add it just a splash at a time). It actually helps the flavor if you don't stir too much so you get some "singed" edges on the chard. Once the veggies are cooked, add just a bit of butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the veggies to the serving bowl on top of the pasta, drizzle with some good quality olive oil and top with some fresh grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. Serve.

The closer you can time the veggies and the pasta, the better; pasta always tastes best within minutes of coming out of the water.