grilled chicken with salsa di giovanna, chard and farfalle

i like cookbooks because they inspire me to try new preparations. and i admit i like the cookbooks that have great photography, preferably those that have shots for each recipe. for me, seeing a dish in its final plated glory is half the pleasure. you eat using all 5 senses you know. hearing the sizzle of a fresh steak on a hot grill pan, smelling the sweet aroma of golden garlic, seeing the glisten of olive oil against deep greens and red onions, feeling the graininess of herby couscous on your tongue, tasting the puckery tartness of a lemon souffle, you use them all without thinking it. pictures bring food alive for me when i can't taste, touch or smell. and so cookbooks that don't have photography tend to bore me a little. i use those books as reference guides instead.

when i stumble upon something really good, i'm inspired to test that preparation with other ingredients. this is what really progresses your abilities as a versatile cook. imagine one fabulous sauce reimagined with swordfish, chicken, pork, and shrimp. then you switch up the sides a bit and you have 10 different meal combinations right there. all it takes is some inspiration, creativity, and a great versatile sauce.

so that's what i stumbled upon with the salsa di giovanna i made last week with the swordfish. it was so easy and tasty. so this time, i decided to pair it simply with chicken and switch up the sides a bit. here's how it turned out...

i started off by chopping and rinsing a bunch of swiss chard.

and sauteed the stalks first (they're tougher) in some olive oil and crushed garlic.

add the leaves and saute with salt, pepper, and some fresh grated nutmeg. done.

while that was going, i prepared a half box of farfalle (bowtie) pasta according to package directions, heavy on the salt.

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts were sliced into strips, seasoned with salt and pepper, then placed on a hot grill pan with a little bit of olive oil

while those got nice and golden, i prepared the salsa di giovanna, this time according to oliver's version using fresh oregeno instead of basil.

juice of 1 lemon, 3 cloves of garlic sliced, a few sprigs of mint and oregeno finely chopped, mixed with salt and pepper to taste.

by this time, you'll want to flip your chicken over and drain the pasta. in that pot went a can of diced tomatoes, chopped basil, a couple cloves of chopped garlic, a good dose of olive oil and salt and pepper. after simmering for 5 minutes in went the pasta for a good mix.

i then reheated the chard and plated this colorful mix...

the salsa di giovanna was quite good with the chicken, elevating simple grilled chicken with a tangy, moist, herby flavor. the oregeno is good, but i do think i prefer basil in this. or perhaps the oregeno version would work well with a pork chop.

the farfalle pasta was perfect, al dente and the tomatoes clung to the bowtie folds. this simple sauce is made in the time it takes to heat a jar of pasta sauce. try it. it's much fresher and lower in sodium. it was a little on the tart side and that'll depend on the variety of canned tomatoes you get. or you can always go fresh if you're feeling more ambitious. =)

the chard is good as usual. the key with chard is not to overcook it so it gets mushy. it should retain a bit of firm crunchiness to the stalk. tastes fresher this way.


i'ved collected a handful of "sauces" over the years that i now use regularly and can pretty much make blindfolded. i adapt these for different dinners and honestly, it takes the headache out of having to try a new recipe everytime. so when you stumble upon a great sauce, be adventurous and let your creativity take you on a culninary journey. it's quite fun and you friends will think you're the most awesomest chef. haha.