Pasta e Ceci (Pasta With Chickpeas)

When I am short on time, but still want a wholesome dinner, this is my absolute favourite. Pasta with ground chickpea sauce is not only creamy, but very filling. This thick and hearty sauce is rich in fiber and protein, and that makes me feel at ease for not including vegetables in a meal, as I normally do. With common pantry ingredients, this dish comes together in a snap. Or if you are like me, you will always have soaked legumes on hand.

Pasta e Ceci (Pasta With Chickpeas)
(serves 2)

Ingredients

Chickpeas – 1½ cups, cooked or 1 16-ounce can
Onion – 1, chopped
Garlic – 2 cloves, chopped
Tomatoes – 3, chopped or 1 small can of chopped tomatoes
Fresh rosemary – 1 tbsp, chopped
Red pepper flakes – 2-4 tsp
Short Pasta – ½ pound
Oil – 2 tsp
Salt
Pepper

Crumbly cheese such as queso fresco, feta or paneer – for garnish
Chopped parsley – for garnish

Method

Heat oil in a deep pot, sauté onion, and garlic until soft. Stir in rosemary, and cook for another minute. Stir in tomatoes, red pepper flakes and salt and cook until tomatoes are softened. Stir in 1 cup of chickpeas (reserve the rest for later), 1 cup if water and heat through. Remove from heat, and blend the mixture until smooth. A hand blender is very handy for this job. Return to heat, keep warm.

While you are preparing the sauce on one side, bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta following package instructions. Pasta should be cooked, but still firm. Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup of cooking water.

Mix cooked pasta with the chickpea sauce, along with the reserved whole chickpeas. The pasta should be slightly soupy, as it will absorb more water. Add some of the reserved pasta water, until desired consistency is reached.

Serve with a garnish of crumbled cheese and fresh herbs. Omit cheese for a vegan version.

Artisan pasta with chickpeas

This is my entry to My Legume Love Affair, Sixth Helping: Hot & Spicy. If you have spicy legume dishes to share with us, send 'em to me before the end of this month.

20 comments:

amna said...

thts a lovely recipe. an easy way to make pasta sauce without adding too much cheese! wonder how this will turn out if baked..

sunita said...

I love the sound of this sauce...will try it soon :-)

Vijitha said...

Yummy! beautiful colours...lovely n tempting pics.

Annie said...

sounds yummm....will definitely try this!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

This pasta dish is something I make often (with slight differences) but never knew this is what it was called!
And I usually cook chickpeas and freeze them for use.

Finla said...

I have neve rhad psta with chcickpeas. It looks so yummy delciious.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

That dish sounds and looks absolutely delightful! Yummy!

Cheers,

Rosa

Anonymous said...

Oh, your dish in which u served the pasta is beautiful. I have bought some small bowls with exactly same designs in a Winners here (Canada), but would love to have a complete dinner set of the same design. Do you know from where I can buy the same.

Thanks
Rashmi.

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Oh, I couldn't agree with you more, Suganya. This was the ultimate comfort food in my house when I was a kid, and it still is today. There are some tastes you just don't outgrow.

Varsha Vipins said...

Nice color and arrangement..Never tried Pasta before,but this sure looks great Suganya..:)

Anonymous said...

What a great idea... I make hummus so often, but never thought of making a pasta sauce with chickpeas. Beautiful pics.

Unknown said...

I have tried spaghetti with pumpking-chickpea suace,which tasted very delicious.
Like your version as well, nice presentation,love the feta cheese on top.

Nirmala said...

Chickpeas and pasta? First time hearing about this. But the dish looks lovely. Even though we do not make pasta at home the sauce seems to be very inviting. I struggle to feed chickpeas to my kids. This way I could feed this to them easily. Tanks for a great idea..

Lisa Turner said...

There are so many easy dishes that taste wonderful. I like the addition of chickpeas here.

Andhra Flavors said...

Hey its a good way to make with less cheese.

test it comm said...

I like the sound of using chickpeas in a pasta.

Miri said...

What a completely interesting way to cook pasta sauce - thanks for posting this!

Anonymous said...

This was great...a great, hearty dish that's easy to prepare after a long day! Thanks for the recipe!

Priya said...

Made this today - was pretty good fresh, but took it to work for lunch and just couldn't like the texture of the chickpea sauce. Followed the recipe exactly except for used parmesan cheese for garnish instead of feta. Flavor is not bad though. I love chickpeas, so maybe next time will just not puree them.

Katie said...

Oh man, that looks incredible.

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