Vegetable Chickpea Pasta

I've been trying to make an effort to incorporate more legumes into my cooking, so don't be surprised to see chickpeas, lentils, beans, and more popping up on this blog. In this recipe, I venture into chickpeas for a very quickly-cooking meal. This dinner comes together in no time and incorporates protein, fiber, and veggies all at once so you don't have to worry about adding any sides for a well-rounded meal.

You'll see in the recipe below that I call for dried chickpeas rather than canned. You can use canned if you are really in a crunch, but I highly recommend against it. Take a look at the nutrition labels of each.. you'll find the canned completely filled with sodium while the dried ones have almost none. It's definitely worth the extra effort of soaking them for a few hours (it's not like you have to pay attention to them!) for the health benefit.

Difficulty: easy
Time: 30 min (not including time to soak the chickpeas)
Cost: $15.22



Vegetable Chickpea Pasta
Ingredients:
1 1/4 c chickpeas, dried
1 box whole wheat spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil
2 c asparagus, chopped in 1" pieces
2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp cumin, ground
1/2 tsp black pepper

Follow the instructions to prepare the chickpeas - probably something involving soaking them for several hours. When they're ready, drain and continue.

Cook the pasta according to instructions, but omit any fat and crack the pasta in half before boiling it. It makes it easier to saute and eat later.

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, swirling to coat. Add the asparagus and saute for about 3 minutes, stirring to keep from burning. Add the tomatoes and saute for another 2 minutes. Add the chickpeas and pasta. Saute for three minutes.

Add 1/3 cup water and reduce the heat to medium-low. The water will help to create a bit more of a sauce. Add the balsamic vinegar, cumin, and black pepper. Saute for another 5 minutes and then enjoy.

Servings: 4
Serving size: 2-2.5 cups pasta
Nutrition: calories 461; carbs 104g; fat 7g; protein 21g; sodium 65mg; iron 38mg