Chickpea Pesto Pasta

This pasta is the perfect fall dish. It’s warm, and it uses the last of the garden produce like vibrant basil and juicy tomatoes.

Are you happy it’s fall? I am, because it means warm flannels, football games, apple cider, and more baking and eating since you gotta store up some fat for the winter, just like squirrels! Or is that just me? I’m always SO MUCH HUNGRIER in the fall and winter! At the same time, I’m super sad summer, with its warmth and no school, is over. What do you like more – summer or fall?

Back to pasta – I LOVE eating pasta in the fall. It’s a hearty, filling dish. This dish is no exception. Filled with toasty chickpeas, warm pasta, and fragrant pesto… It’s sure to satisfy! I love the roasted chickpeas so much that I eat them for snack! They’re also great with a veggie stir-fry.

SERVES 4

• 1 pound of your favorite pasta (I used spaghetti). Use gluten free pasta to make this recipe gluten free.
• 2 cans of chickpeas
• seasoning salt
• Pesto (recipe HERE)
• 2 tomatoes, to garnish

To make the pasta: Follow instructions on the back of the box or use these instructions!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Drain chickpeas and spread them out on a baking pan after you cover the bottom of the pan with a light layer of oil (I just used cooking spray). Sprinkle your favorite seasoning salt on top of them and roast them for 20 minutes, or until they’re brown and crispy.

Once the pasta is made, put it back in the pasta pot and pour in the pesto. Mix it all together and scoop it into bowls (yes I eat my spaghetti in a bowl – deal with it). Top with a few spoonfuls of roasted chickpeas and chopped tomatoes. Enjoy!

xx Ellie

Vibrant Penne Pasta

I am SO excited to share this recipe with you.

My mom and I made this pasta when we had my grandparents over for dinner last week. We didn’t use any sodium in this recipe because my grandpa cannot eat sodium for health reasons. We just put a little bit of seasoning salt on our pasta after it was served.

Lots of garlic, tomatoes, and fresh vegetables give the pasta a fresh flavor, and the basil gives it a little zing. The sauce is like a thinner, more natural version of canned spaghetti sauce, which we couldn’t use because it is FULL of sodium. My grandparents loved the pasta, and not just because their daughter and granddaughter made it! (hehe)

This pasta has SUCH great, vibrant flavor. I hope you love it as much as my family did!

Vibrant Penne Pasta

serves 8-10

takes around 40 minutes to prepare (active time : 20 minutes)

based off of “Pasta Primavera with Fresh Veggies and Herbs” from The Vegan Table*

• 1 box (16 ounces) of penne pasta
• olive oil (to drizzle the bottom of a pan with)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 large (or 9 baby) carrots, chopped into 1 inch circles
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped into 2 inch strips
• 10-12 asparagus stalks, cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces
• 2 1/2 cups (4 or 5 medium-sized) diced tomatoes
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1 bunch (around 8) scallions, chopped into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cups chopped & loosely packed basil leaves
• 1 cup toasted pine nuts**
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta.
3. Meanwhile, dump the pine nuts into a roasting pan and roast them for 6-8 minutes (until they’re darker and lightly toasted)
4. Cut the veggies. Drizzle the bottom of a roasting pan with olive oil. Add the chopped veggies and garlic to the roasting pan and roast them for 15 minutes, then flip the veggies and roast them for 15 minutes on the other side. Take out the veggies when they are crispy.
5. Transfer the roasted veggies into a sauté pan, and turn the stovetop to low heat. Pour the tomatoes into the pan. Stir to combine them with the veggies.
6. Pour the vegetable stock into the pan, stir, and let the mixture simmer until it is thoroughly heated.
7. Add scallions and chopped basil to the mixture and stir until combined.
8. Pour the drained pasta back into the pasta pot. Add the veggie mixture to the pan and mix it with the pasta.
9. Serve the pasta. Top with fresh basil and roasted pine nuts.

*I changed the veggies, amounts, and directions from the original recipe.

**You CAN use other nuts (like cashews), but pine nuts taste best with this dish!

Enjoy!

xx Ellie