Chickpea and Zucchini Pasta

Name: Chickpea and Zucchini Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Fusilli pasta 11.3 oz; Zucchini 0.9 lb; Precooked chickpeas (drained weight) 1 ¼ cup; Pine nuts 1.8 oz; Basil 1 oz; Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese 1.1 oz; Garlic 1 clove; Dried chili pepper 2; Extra virgin olive oil 2 ¼ tbsp; Fine salt to taste; Black pepper to taste

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Low

PRESENTATION

Chickpea and Zucchini Pasta pulls a cold-weather staple into summer, binding chickpeas and tender zucchini with a velvety cream of basil and pine nuts. That cream is what separates this from a standard pasta e ceci: smooth, fragrant, and cohesive, it coats every bite while toasted pine nuts add a quiet crunch across the top. A pinch of peperoncino keeps the whole thing from leaning too gentle.

Pre-cooked chickpeas mean everything comes together in the time the pasta takes to cook—yet nothing about the finished dish suggests that. It holds at room temperature just as well as it does straight from the pot, which makes this pasta with chickpeas and zucchini as useful for a desk lunch as it is for a dinner where you actually want to impress.

How to prepare Chickpea and Zucchini Pasta

To prepare the chickpea and zucchini pasta, first trim the zucchini and cut them roughly into cubes 1. In a pan, flavor a drizzle of oil with the garlic and dried chilies 2, then add the zucchini 3. Sauté over medium-high heat for about ten minutes, until golden.

Spoon out a couple of tablespoons of the cooked zucchini 4, transfer them to a container 5 and set aside. Add the pre-cooked chickpeas to the remaining zucchini in the pan 6 and continue cooking over high heat for a few minutes.

At the end of cooking, remove the garlic and the chili 7 and season with salt 8. Set aside and toast the pine nuts in another pan 9.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the fusilli until al dente 10. In the meantime, take the container with the zucchini, add the basil leaves 11 and 2 tbsp of oil 12.

Add the grated Parmigiano Reggiano 13 and 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts 14, then pour in a little water 15.

Blend with an immersion blender until you obtain a smooth cream 16. Meanwhile the pasta will be cooked, so drain it into the pan with the chickpeas and zucchini 17. Add the zucchini-and-basil cream and gently mix everything together 18.