Chickpea pasta

I went gaga over the fresh, local produce at Whole Foods the other day.  The prices were right and it only took a few minutes for a recipe to come to mind.

 

No sense in using jarred sauce when you’ve got fresh tomatoes aplenty. 

First, I threw half an onion on the pan to get a nice sauté base going. 

Once they were brown I added in a can of chickpeas (and ~1/4 of the liquid).

I let it simmer together for a while before spicing it up.

No measurements were used, but I tossed in the following:

• oregano
• basil
• thyme
• salt
• pepper
• Garlic Gold’s Italian Herb Nuggets

 

Kyle loves garlic, so even though I’m not a huge fan, it’s important for us both to make the (stinky) plunge together.  Otherwise he gets no kisses for the rest of the night.  Garlic Gold has actually made me rethink my stance on garlic since I’ve been using their products more and more lately.  That or I’m preparing for a vampire invasion.   

Anyways, I let that stew on it’s own for a while and in the meantime I started boiling water for the pasta. 

Next came a fist ‘o spinach.

After 30 seconds of being covered the spinach got wilty, at which point I added the chopped tomatoes.

Since the tomatoes only need a few minutes to heat up, they are the very last step before serving.

The entire meal took under 30 minutes to prepare.

Served over fettuccine pasta if you like, or solo if you don’t.  

I also made asparagus in the oven with evoo, salt & pepper.

Kyle’s plate was asparagus free, which means mine was piled high with it.

I love everything about this meal.  Kyle and I were both eager for seconds, so there were definitely no leftovers. 

I think seasoned chickpeas may be my new go-to meal.  So simple.  So tasty.  So cheap.  So perfect. 

It’s a pretty adaptable recipe too…you can sub white beans for the chickpeas, go with or without pasta, or even add in a different grain altogether (like couscous, quinoa, whatever!).  Next time I make this it’s going to be in mass quantities.