Chickpea and roasted tomato pantry pasta

Pasta is the ultimate blank canvas and is often the start of many great meals.  This recipe came to me when I was craving a basic pantry dish called, “pasta e ceci.” This was a childhood favorite that consisted of four ingredients, pasta, garlic, chickpeas and pecorino cheese, which to me was the ultimate comfort food. I wanted to expand upon these ingredients to create more of a meal per se, so I added in some tomatoes and sausage to make it a bit more substantial.  The result was a perfectly balanced and filling pantry pasta dish.

Chickpea and roasted tomato pantry pasta 

Serving Size: 4

Time To Prep (mm): 1 hour 

Time To Cook (mm): 1 hour and 30 minutes

Special Kitchen Equipment Required: High sided skillet 

Technique Tip: Roasting the grape tomatoes slowly enhances their sweet flavor 

Swap Option: You can use pork sausage or leave out the meat entirely for a vegetarian option 

Why I Love This Recipe: The hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the tomatoes to slow cook, after that the recipe comes together in the time it takes to cook the pasta. 

Ingredients (listed)

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half 

• 2 cloves garlic

• 4 sprigs thyme 

• 3 T olive oil

• Kosher salt, to taste 

• 8 oz turkey sausage, out of casings

• 1 yellow onion, diced 

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped 

• ½ t red chili flakes 

• 1 (15) oz can chickpeas, drained 

• 2 T tomato paste 

• 12 ounces orecchiette pasta 

• ½ c parsley leaves, chopped 

• Parmesan cheese, for serving 

Recipe Steps (listed) 

1. Preheat oven to 300F

2. On a sheet pan toss tomatoes, garlic and thyme with 1 T olive oil and season with salt. Place in the oven for 1 hour or until tomatoes are soft and jammy.  Set aside. 

3. In a large high sided skillet over medium high heat add 1 T olive oil and sausage. Cook sausage undisturbed until crispy and brown on one side. Use a wooden spoon to break up into smaller pieces. Once cooked through, remove to a plate. In the same pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil. Add onions and garlic and season with salt and red chile flakes. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until translucent. Add drained chickpeas  and slightly smash some using a wooden spoon, letting some of the chickpeas brown in olive oil. Add tomato paste and cook a few minutes more. Add sausage and roasted tomatoes back to the pan and keep warm. 

4. Meanwhile, cook orecchiette in heavily salted water according to package directions. 

5. Once pasta is cooked, add to tomato chickpea mixture along with 1 cup pasta water. Mix everything through and add more pasta water if necessary. Add chopped parsley and season to taste with salt. To serve, top with Parmesan cheese.