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Tomato and Basil Chickpea Pasta


  • Author: Just Easy Recipes
  • Prep Time: 5 Minus
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 25 mins
  • Yield: 4 1x

Description

The easiest weeknight meal you will ever make – cook this delicious Tomato and Basil Chickpea Pasta recipe with basic pantry items in just 20 minutes. It’s my new go-to meal!


Ingredients

  • 1 can chickpeas, drained
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons smoked Paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • A liberal amount of freshly cracked black pepper
  • 2 cans tomatoes, crushed
  • 1/2 cup Basil Pesto
  • 4 cups Penne (or approx 450g)
  • Optional: Strong Cheese such as Pecorino or Granada or Parmesan
  • Optional: Garnish with Parsley

Instructions

  1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat and add the chickpeas and spices – paprika, chilli flakes, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cook for 4-5 minutes to allow the chickpeas to get all lovely and crispy and then remove them from the pot (you’ll add these back later!)
  2. Now, all you need to do is add the 2 tins of tomatoes and the half a cup of basil pesto and allow to simmer for 15 minutes – I usually put the lid on the pot slightly ajar so that the sauce doesn’t splatter everywhere.
  3. At this point I actually get out my handheld blender and blitz the sauce so I don’t have any chunky tomato bits and it also helps to blend the pesto into the tomatoes. The result is a smooth, rich looking tomato sauce.
  4. In the meantime, you can cook your Penne (or whatever pasta you choose) until al dente, drain it and then add it to the sauce and mix through.
  5. And lastly, add the chickpeas back into the dish as well as any other toppings – a little grated hard cheese, some parsley, a little lemon juice if you choose, some crushed Cashew nuts. And then enjoy!! It will be hard not to.

Notes

Credit must go to HalfBakedHarvest.com for this recipe. All Photographs are Just Easy Recipes original photographs of the dish and the method has been re-written in my own “Just Easy Recipes” words/ interpretation after making this many times!