Pasta e Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)

The red pepper in this recipe makes the sauce taste somewhat like a fra diavolo. I like to use a fiber rich pasta to boost up the fiber even more! I love serving this with a salad and a warm hearty bread. This is a great vegetarian meal.

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
Red pepper flakes – 2-4 tsp
Pasta – ½ pound
Oil – 2 tsp
Salt
Pepper
Chopped parsley – for garnish

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a deep pot, sauté onion, and garlic until soft.
2. Stir in tomatoes, red pepper flakes and salt and cook until tomatoes are softened.
3. Stir in 1 cup of chickpeas (reserve the rest for later.) If you are using fresh tomatoes that you chopped, add 1 cup of water. If you used a can of crushed tomatoes, the water is not necessary.
4. Remove from heat, and blend the mixture until smooth. A hand blender is very handy for this job, or just use a potato masher.
5. Return to heat, keep warm.
6. While you are preparing the sauce, bring a pot of water to boil and cook pasta. Pasta should be cooked, but still firm.
7. Mix cooked pasta with the chickpea sauce, along with the reserved whole chickpeas.