Creamy Chickpea Pasta With Spinach And Rosemary Food

LINGUINE WITH CRISP CHICKPEAS AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of heavily salted water (2 heaping tablespoons kosher salt to about 7 quarts water) to a boil. Meanwhile, make the rosemary oil: Pat the rosemary dry with a kitchen towel. In a large Dutch oven or skillet big enough to hold all the pasta, warm the oil over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the rosemary sprigs and fry, flipping once, until sizzling subsides and leaves are crisp, 3 or 4 minutes.
• Transfer the sprigs to a paper towel-lined plate, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Keep the pot with the oil on the stove.
• Add pasta to the boiling water, and cook to al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water, and drain the pasta.
• While the pasta cooks, with the rosemary oil over medium-high heat, add the butter. Once melted, add the garlic and chickpeas and fry, stirring occasionally, until the chickpeas are golden brown and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. If some of the chickpeas explode like popcorn, that's a good sign.
• As the chickpeas cook, remove the rosemary leaves from the sprigs (pinch the top of the sprig and swipe downwards). If any do not come off easily, they aren't fully fried: Throw them back into the oil with the chickpeas and remove them after a quick fry. Crumble the leaves by rubbing them between your fingers, and set aside.
• Once the chickpeas are crisp, season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low and stir in the pasta, adding pasta water as needed to form a glossy sauce. Stir in the parsley and crumbled rosemary leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a lemon wedge for squeezing. Top with grated cheese and a drizzle of olive oil if desired.

CREAMY CHICKPEA PASTA WITH SPINACH AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high.
• In a wide, deep skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the chickpeas, rosemary and Aleppo pepper, if using. Season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chickpeas start to caramelize at their edges and pop, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer about half the chickpeas to a bowl. Reserve for garnish.
• Reduce the heat to medium, add the shallots and garlic to the skillet, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, stir in the spinach and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Add the pasta to the boiling water and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the pasta until a couple minutes short of al dente according to package instructions, about 5 minutes. Do not drain the pasta, but using tongs, transfer the pasta directly from the pot to the spinach and cream sauce. Add 1 cup pasta cooking water and the Parmesan, and cook over medium-high, stirring vigorously with the tongs, until the sauce is thickened and the noodles are al dente, about 2 minutes. Add a splash of pasta water to loosen sauce, if needed.
• Transfer to bowls, and top with reserved chickpeas, rosemary and black pepper. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges for squeezing on top.

GARLIC, CHICKPEA & SPINACH SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook the garlic and onions until soft and golden.
• Stir in the cumin and coriander and cook for one minute.
• Add the stock and potatoes.
• Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add chickpeas and simmer for another 5 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
• Mix the cornflour, cream and tahini together.
• Stir into the soup with the spinach.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Bring to the boil, stirring and simmering for another 2 minutes.
• Sprinkle with cayenne pepper before serving.