Pasta with Chickpeas

Storing and Planning Ahead

Keeps in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat with a splash of water.

How to Make Pasta with Chickpeas

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1. Cook the pasta in a large pan of well-salted boiling water until 2 minutes short of the packet time. Keep a cup of the water, then drain.

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2. Meanwhile, warm 3 tbsp of the oil in a wide pan with the garlic and rosemary for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 8 minutes.

   Mark done Start 2 min timer

3. Add the chickpeas and crush half with a fork. Simmer for 5 minutes.

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4. Add the pasta, salt, pepper and a ladle of pasta water and cook for 2 minutes. Serve with the parmesan and remaining oil.

   Mark done Start 2 min timer

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A Few Pointers

• Crush half the chickpeas to thicken the sauce.
• Finish the pasta in the sauce.
• Remove the rosemary before serving.
• Add pasta water if the sauce is too thick.

Why the Method Is What It Is

A Sunday dish for four, which is also just as good on a Monday: chickpeas that have been simmered with garlic and rosemary taste far better than the ones in the tin, and pasta cooked in the same sauce draws it all together.

Start by frying the garlic and rosemary in olive oil, gently, until fragrant. Add the tomato and half the chickpeas. Crush the other half roughly with a fork and stir them in. Mashed chickpeas make the sauce creamy. They release starch and thicken the liquid without cream or flour.

Cook the pasta in its own pot until nearly ready, and finish it in the chickpea sauce for the last 2 minutes with a ladle of its cooking water. That brings the sauce and pasta together.

Short shapes, such as ditalini, tubetti or small shells, suit best. Finish with a thread of good olive oil and black pepper.

What to Put Next to It

Green salad · Crusty bread · Grated parmesan · A glass of red wine

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Ciabatta, Citrus Fennel Salad, Fave e Cicoria.

Changing the Recipe

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

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