At the Market: Chard

Known by a number of prefixes, Swiss being the most common, chard has a known history that stems as far back as the hanging gardens of ancient Babylon, a once fertile ground where agriculture is said to have been born. This, of course, I did not learn until afterward. I was thumbing through an old October copy of Bon Appétit and came across a dish that looked irrisistible: Swiss Chard Ricotta Gnudi with Fall Mushrooms. I was sold.

Gnudi are a type of large, ricotta gnocchi. The gnudi mixture had to sit in the fridge overnight, so start the prep for this cozy meal the day before you wish to partake. The resulting dish was different than I had anticipated, slightly Asian in its essence, with a strong mushroom presence. All in all, I enjoyed it and found the thin, shallow soup a welcoming accompaniment to the unexpected rain.