Swiss chard and sausage over polenta

"Is there a greater leafy green than swiss chard? It's more versatile than Meryl Streep." Seriouseats has never been more correct. Of all the leafy greens, swiss chard is by far my favorite. It's kind of like the perfect boyfriend: low maintenance for something quick and easy, like sauted simply in garlic. But if you have the time to dress it up you can take it out to some place nice, like in a Provencal tart.

Last night, Hughes and I made this recipe. We browned some Whole Foods pork sausages and then sauteed the chard in the pork-y juices left in the pan. The mild and creamy polenta was the perfect background for the savory sausage and garlicky chard.

Spinach and Chickpeas

This recipe comes with the recommendation of the wonderful Natasha Weiser, so you know it's good. Great minds (if my brain can really be compared to hers) must think alike, because I was just thinking about what I was going to do with the pound of chickpeas in my freezer and some leftover spinach.

Now, you know I love my legumes, but I think my favorite thing about this dish is the bread pieces. I didn't have a blender/food processor/mortar and pestle, so I feebly tried to mash up the bread with a big spool and failed. But fortunately, this failure left the vinegar-y, garlicky bread pieces with their soft center and crisp exterior in all their glory. I seriously might just start sauteing bread + garlic + red wine vinegar for dinner in the future. Try it, you'll love it too.

My ratios were off when I made this tonight but I think the linked recipe as it stands can use more tomato sauce. The chickpeas can also stand to simmer for a good amount of time more to absorb maximum flavor. I'll probably come back to this post and add my own version of the recipe but use the link for now. I served the dish with a fried egg on top and over a slice of the same bread I used in the recipe, because frankly, Trader Joe's Italian Pane is good enough to appear twice in any meal.