Chickpea and Spinach Pasta
Chickpea and Spinach Pasta uses tinned chickpeas, frozen spinach (fresh can be substituted) and dried pasta to create an economical but tasty dish. Flavoured with garlic, lemon, parsley, hot chilli or mild red pepper flakes, the sauce ingredients can be prepped and cooked in the time it takes the pasta to boil.
Served with or without a scattering of cheese, Chickpea and Spinach Pasta makes a great lunch or main course, hot or cold.
Ingredients
- salt
- 75 - 100 g medium sized dried pasta (e.g. cavatappi/spirali, fusilli)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 - 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 80 g cooked chickpeas
- ¼ - ½ tsp hot or mild chilli or red pepper flakes
- 100 g spinach (defrosted and squeezed dry if frozen)
- black pepper
- ½ lemon (juice only)
- 1 rounded tbsp finely chopped parsley
- finely grated cheese to serve (e.g. Parmesan, Pecorino, hard goat cheese)
Instructions
-
Boil a kettle of water and pour into a medium saucepan, adding a handful of salt.
Add the pasta and cook until done to your liking (9 - 12 min), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Complete the next step while the pasta is cooking.
-
Put 1 tbsp of olive oil in a small, deepish frying pan over low-medium heat.
Add the chopped garlic and cook gently for a few minutes or until starting to colour a little.
Stir in the chickpeas and chilli or red pepper flakes and cook for another minute.
Stir in the spinach and season with a little salt and some black pepper. Continue to stir around until everything is hot (if using fresh spinach, cook until done to your liking).
-
Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water.
Tip the pasta into the frying pan and toss with the chickpeas and spinach. Add a little of the pasta cooking water to loosen plus the lemon juice.
Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.
Stir in the parsley.
-
Transfer to a bowl and serve, drizzled with olive oil plus more black pepper and chilli/red pepper flakes if liked. Serve the grated cheese on the side.
Can also be served cold as a salad.