4 tbsp vegan margarine or generous glug of olive oil
Coarsely ground black pepper
Sea salt
400g penne pasta
3/4 cup nutritional yeast, plus extra for serving
1/2 cup coarse fresh breadcrumbs, fried in olive oil until golden brown
Instructions
Combine the oil, onion, garlic and chard in a large pan.
Cook over a medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion and chard are beginning to soften (about 5 minutes).
Season well with the salt and add 60ml water.
Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chard is very tender (about 20 minutes).
Add the margarine or olive oil. Season with pepper and remove from the heat. (The ragu can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate; reheat in a large pan over a medium-low heat before adding the pasta.)
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add a generous amount of sea salt. Drop in the penne and cook until just al dente.
Drain the pasta, reserving about 125ml of the pasta water. Add the pasta and 60ml of the reserved pasta water to the chard ragu. Stir and toss over medium heat until the pasta is well coated (add a splash or two more of the reserved pasta water if necessary to loosen the sauce). Stir in the nutritional yeast.
Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl and scatter the breadcrumbs over the top.