Chickpea Pasta

I found this recipe in the January 2008 issue of Real Simple magazine (my favorite magazine). It had simple ingredients and looked simple to make so I decided to give it a try. I’ve always been a sucker for a big bowl of pasta.

Chickpea Pasta with Almonds & Parmesan
4 servings

1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
7 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
1 pound angel hair pasta
1 15.5 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup unsalted roasted almonds, chopped
½ cup grated Parmesan

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the broth, red pepper, and ¾ tsp salt and bring to a boil.

Add the pasta and cook, stirring, until the broth is nearly absorbed and the pasta is al dente, about six minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and parsley.

Divide among individual bowls and top with almonds and Parmesan.

My take on it: I pretty much followed the recipe as directed above using vegetable broth instead of chicken and sliced non-roasted almonds instead of chopped, roasted almonds. Also for some reason I decided to make this recipe in a covered skillet instead of a saucepan. Not sure what I was thinking there but it worked out just fine.


So was it worth it? The recipe tasted great however I probably won’t make it exactly like this again. First, I’m not a huge fan of long pasta noodles such as spaghetti, fettuccini or angel hair. So the first substitution I would make is to use a different noodle such as rotini or farfalle. Second, this recipe makes a lot! I felt like it was a lot more than four servings. So next time I will use less pasta and therefore less broth. Finally I will cook everything in a big pot instead of a skillet!

One thing I really liked about this recipe was the chickpeas. I’ve really only used chickpeas to make hummus and in a great soup recipe. I had never tossed them in pasta. Since I’ve made this recipe I’ve started using chickpeas all the time. I have tossed them into other pasta dishes and into salads. They are a great source of protein and they are pretty inexpensive too.