Creamy Chickpea Pasta

Ready for another easy, pasta-based recipe? Really, these are changing my life. This one is creamy and rich and, due to the rosemary, reminds me of my mother, with her rosemary-filled garden beds and epic rosemary-roasted potatoes, and my grammy, who gave me my first gigantic bottle of dried rosemary when I got married and moved out of state.

Also worth noting: I always use whole wheat pasta. And not anything special, just store-brand, plain whole wheat pasta. I know this particular starch is notorious for tasting "like cardboard", but I haven't found that to be true. I have found it, much like any pasta, to be less appetizing after sitting around for months and going stale, so take from that what you will. In any case, this dish could honestly be served as a soup if pasta isn't your thing. I plan on putting it on sauteed spinach or, hallelujah, garlicky kale, in the future.

Creamy Chickpea Pasta

1 small to medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

about 1 tbsp dried rosemary or 3 fresh rosemary sprigs

2 tsp olive oil

1 15 oz can diced tomato

1 15 oz can chickpeas

salt + pepper

Saute onion, garlic, and rosemary on low heat until onions are soft and golden. Add tomato and half of the chickpeas and cook ten minutes. Discard rosemary sprigs if using, and puree saute in blender until creamy and smooth. Return to skillet, add remaining chickpeas, and season. Serve with chunky pasta.

I put pepper and nutritional yeast on mine, once I threw on capers. If you're not vegan, some feta cheese would be nice, as would diced fresh tomato. Or eat as-is. 

Note: if using dried herb, the blended rosemary may add a slight bitterness to the sauce. I don't mind it, but if your palate is sensitive to things like that, you may want to get fresh herb.