Roman Sauce - 8g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber

Roman Sauce
Categories : Condiment LowCal (Less than 300 cals) LowerCarbs Veggie
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
3/4 pound Swiss chard -- washed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove -- peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 tablespoons raisins
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
To serve: cooked pasta to serve 4 people

Cut stalks from chard and slice fairly thinly. Set aside. Cook the leaves in a dry saucepan 3-4 minutes until just cooked. Squeeze dry and chop very roughly. Heat oil in a skillet and saute garlic for 1 minute. Add pine nuts and continue cooking until they begin to brown. Toss sliced chard stalks into pan and stir-fry 2-3 minutes until they soften. Add chard leaves, raisins, salt and pepper, and toss over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Spoon onto pasta and serve as once with more black pepper. Makes 4 servings.

VARIATIONS: Use a little less oil and dress with 2-3 tablespoons whipping cream just before serving.

I first had this pasta topping in a pretty restaurant nestled under the garden walls of the Villa d'Este in Rome. Swiss chard is eaten quite often in this city. Spinach could also be used but it tends to become soggy too quickly and its stalks do not give the same texture to the dish. This sauce is best served as a first course with fettucine.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 174 Calories; 16g Fat (77.5% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 182mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch) ; 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 3 Fat.
Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0