INGREDIENTS
- Kosher salt
- 12 ounces Swiss chard (about
1 bunch)
- 4 medium garlic cloves,
halved
- 1/4 cup red miso paste
- 2 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 12 ounces dried soba noodles
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable
oil
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and
cut into 1-1/2-inch matchsticks
- 1 sheet dried, roasted
seaweed (nori), cut into 9 pieces and thinly sliced (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted
water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, trim the ends from the chard
stems and discard. Cut off the stems at the base of the leaves and slice
crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Place in a small bowl and set aside. Stack
the leaves and coarsely chop; set aside.
- Add the chard leaves and garlic to the
boiling water, stir to combine, and blanch until the leaves are just
wilted and tender, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the
leaves and garlic to a food processor fitted with a blade attachment (it’s
OK if some of the blanching water gets into the food processor). Reserve
the pot and water.
- Add the miso paste and vinegar to the
food processor and season with pepper. Process until a smooth paste forms,
stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 2
minutes total. Leave the chard pesto in the food processor.
- Return the water in the pot to a boil
over high heat. Add the soba noodles, stir to separate them, and cook
according to the package directions or until al dente. Drain the noodles
in a colander and rinse under cold water until cool. With the noodles
still in the colander, drizzle with 1 teaspoon of the oil and toss to
coat; set aside.
- Dry the pot, add the remaining 1
tablespoon of oil, and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add the
reserved chard stems and carrots, season with salt and pepper, and cook,
stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the pot
from the heat.
- Add the reserved soba noodles and
chard pesto to the pot and toss to combine and evenly coat everything with
the pesto. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Transfer to a
serving bowl and garnish with the seaweed, if using. Serve warm or at room
temperature.