Pasta with Chickpea Ragu

Makes about 5-6 servings

Ingredients

1 pack of short cut pasta of your choice (I used Torchietti)

For the ragu sauce

1/2 an onion, diced

2 garlic cloves

Olive oil

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 tb tomato paste

1 can of whole tomatoes

1/2 cup vegetable broth

1 bunch of rosemary

1 cup chickpeas (soaked and drained)

Salt

Pepper

1. Prepare your chickpeas the day before: Soak 1 cup of dried chickpeas in a bowl of 4 cups of water (not too hot and not too cold). Cover with plastic wrap and let the chickpeas soak overnight. The chickpeas should have doubled in size the next day.

2. Drain the water and remove the chickpea skins. Boil the chickpeas in a pot for about 20 minutes or until just a bit soft. Drain the water and set the chickpeas aside.

3. Cook your pasta. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce: Cook the onions and garlic in a large pot with olive oil over high heat. After about 1 minute, add the chili flakes. Continue to cook the onions and garlic for about 2 more minutes, and then add the tomato paste. Stir for about 1 minute, then add the can of whole tomatoes, rosemary, salt, pepper and vegetable broth. Cover the pot and let the sauce simmer on medium-low for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the chickpeas in the pot and stir. Cover the pot and let everything simmer for about 5 more minutes.

5. Scoop out about 1/2 of the chickpeas and some of the sauce. Place the chickpeas and sauce in another pot or bowl, and use an immersion blender to blend the chickpeas until thick and chunky. Add this mixture back into the pot of sauce. Stir everything and let everything cook for about 2 more minutes.

6. Add about 1/2 cup of the pasta water into the pot of ragu Add more water if you would like the sauce to be more runny. Add the pasta. Mix altogether, and then serve the pasta with parsley and pepper. Enjoy!