1. Roast the tomatoes: Preheat the oven to 425° F. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with a large pinch of salt. Roast, shaking the pan occasionally until the tomatoes are brown in spots and beginning to collapse, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven. Set aside. 

2. While the tomatoes are roasting, drizzle about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet or cast-iron pan. (Bonus points if the pan is large enough to accommodate the pasta once cooked.) Add in the pancetta and cook over medium heat until brown and crispy, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and place on a paper-towel lined plate. Set aside.

3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat.  Salt it once it boils. Add in the pasta. Stir and cook for a minute or two under the package cooking directions. (The pasta will finish cooking with the sauce.) 

4. Meanwhile, dice the chard stems. Add the onion and chard stems to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until the wine almost completely evaporates.

5. Add in the roasted tomatoes and any accumulated juices. Stir to combine. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.

6. Cut the chard leaves into wide ribbons crosswise and add to the skillet. Cook until the chard leaves just begin to wilt, about 3 minutes. 

7. When the pasta is just shy of ‘al dente’, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain. Add the pasta to the skillet, along with the reserved pasta water. Stir to combine. (If your saucepan is not large enough to accommodate the pasta, drain the pasta. Don’t forget to reserve the water. Add the pasta, sauce, and pasta water to the pasta pot.) 

8. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for a few minutes until the pasta is ‘al dente’ and the sauce coats each strand.  

9. Transfer the pasta to a warmed serving platter (or serve right from the skillet.) Top with the crispy pancetta and serve with plenty of grated Parmigiano or Pecorino on the side.

Vegetarian option: Omit the pancetta. Sauté the onion and chard stems in a little extra olive oil.