How Italians Cook with CHICKPEAS (and why they're so important)

chickpea pasta

🥗Healthier: zucchini noodles

💰Cheaper: regular pasta

Zucchini noodles are lower in calories, while regular pasta is more affordable.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated cheese blend

Nutritional yeast is dairy-free and lower in calories.

Soak chickpeas overnight in water with a little baking soda.

Rinse chickpeas and place them in a pot, covering with water.

Boil chickpeas until soft but not mushy, about 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally.

Salt the chickpeas to taste at the end of cooking.

Heat olive oil in a skillet and add minced garlic, cooking until fragrant.

Add cooked chickpeas to the skillet with the garlic.

Pour in about 2 tablespoons of the water used to cook the chickpeas and 1.5 tablespoons of tomato puree, stirring to combine.

Simmer the chickpeas and sauce on medium-low heat.

Boil broccoli rabe in the same water used for chickpeas until the stems are soft, then cut into smaller pieces.

Drain the broccoli rabe, reserving the cooking water.

Cook the chickpea pasta in the reserved broccoli water for 3 minutes less than the package instructions.

Drain the pasta, reserving some pasta water.

Combine the chickpea sauce with the drained pasta in the skillet, adding reserved pasta water as needed to finish cooking the pasta.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens