Lemony Pasta With Chickpeas and Parsley
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:2 servings
- Kosher salt, as needed
- 8ounces regular or whole-wheat fusilli or other short, sturdy pasta
- 2cups cooked chickpeas, home-cooked or canned
- ¼cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 2garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- ½onion, diced
- 1tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- Pinch of red pepper flakes, plus more as needed
- 1½cups chickpea cooking liquid (from a homemade pot; do not use the liquid from the can), vegetable stock or water
- 3cups fresh parsley leaves (from 1 large bunch)
- ⅔cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
- 1tablespoon unsalted butter
- Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
- Ground black pepper to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
1284 calories; 52 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 27 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 153 grams carbohydrates; 24 grams dietary fiber; 14 grams sugars; 53 grams protein; 1342 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add fusilli and cook until it is just shy of al dente. (It should be slightly underdone to your taste because you’ll finish cooking it in the sauce.) Drain well.
- Step 2
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the chickpea sauce: Place chickpeas in a large bowl and use a potato masher or a fork to lightly mash them; they should be about half-crushed.
- Step 3
Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add garlic cloves and fry until they are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in onions, rosemary, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Then stir in chickpeas and the cooking liquid, stock or water. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Stir in pasta and parsley, and cook until the pasta has finished cooking and is coated in the sauce, 1 to 2 minutes. Quickly toss in cheese, butter, lemon zest, black pepper to taste and salt if needed. Drizzle with olive oil and shower with additional cheese before serving.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Barbara from Ottawa
I found this a bit bland until I doubled the amount of lemon zest and then added the juice of the entire lemon and a bit of freshly ground salt. That brightened it up considerably. Get your prep done before you cook the pasta, and it all comes together very nicely.
Jude
Melissa, don't throw out the pasta water!!! That should be the liquid that thins out the chickpea mash if you are using canned chickpeas, which is what most people who want a "quick cooking dinner" will use.
Jen
I make this recipe all the time, with the added difference of adding an anchovy when sautéing the onions. It is delicious, wonderful and one of my favourite "comfort foods".
Emily Motherwell
Delicious! I made this last night, as written + two cans of excellent tuna, fresh tomatoes and fresh arugula.
If you do those additions (I personally loved them) I'd recommend adding in some olives as well...
emily
8 ounces of pasta for 4 people? you must not eat much. we are a family of four and we all get a lot of exercise, and I can barely make a pound of pasta last as dinner for 4, even with a salad on the side . . .
Equilibrist
I've made chickpea pastas in the past that I've found meh (pasta con ceci), but this one was fantastic. The lemon zest really zips it up, and mashing the chickpeas makes the texture more complex. Next time I plan to throw some capers into the pan along with the garlic and onion (I used spring Vidalias).
Rick
Could you redo your last sentence. Spell check/voice recognition messed up whatever you meant to say (or maybe you really did finish cooking this at LaGuardia)
Sally
I loved this recipe! Thanks for the suggestions - I made some changes as well.
1) cavatappi worked perfectly
2) 2 T (not 1/4 cup) of olive oil was perfect
3) used pasta water instead of broth
4) zest from 1 lemon (not 1/2)
Jean Gantzer
To make this dish "heart healthy" and vegan take out the cheese butter and oil. Substitute ground cashews nutritional yeast and a small amount of garlic salt all mixed together in place of the cheese
Jenny G
I love ceci so I thought this was completely delicious, and came together quickly. I removed the garlic cloves from the pan when the onions went in -- actually I used a shallot which was nice, and I also kept some of the pasta cooking water to thin out the sauce if necessary. Great dish, thank you.
Andy C.
Excellent, but at over 1000 calories per serving not a meal I'll be indulging in too often.
Lori
Terrific. Only change I'll make for next time is not to stir in the parmesan. I like cheese as much as the next guy, but I felt it made the dish gummy (maybe because I used shredded rather than grated), and somehow it took away from the brightness/freshness of the lemon and parsley. Will just serve the cheese at the table for sprinkling. Oh, and as others have said, a generous squirt of lemon juice at the end does wonders.
Christa
This was outstanding. I followed other's advice to double the amount of lemon zest and then add a big squirt of lemon juice at the end. My French, omnivore husband agreed that it is fantastic. By the way, I forgot to buy fresh parsley so I used another commenter's advice to add about 3/4 tablespoon of dried parsley plus 3/4 tablespoon of dried rosemary. If you do so, go easy on the salt as the herbs and lemon give a lot of flavor.
Lisa
I found this a bit flat. If I make it again, I'll add anchovy to the sweating onion and a good squeeze of lemon juice to the finished dish.
Barrie
As others have mentioned, a wonderful base recipe. Per other's advice I doubled the lemon zest and added a splash of lemon juice.
Changes:
- Added 3 minced garlic cloves with the onions
- Used the pasta cooking water, but added some vegetable bouillon as well
- Used ~3/4 tbs. of dried rosemary and ~3 tbs. of dried parsley (all I had on hand)
Came out really tasty! Next time I'm thinking of:
- Adding a splash of white wine instead of lemon juice
- Adding artichoke hearts or asparagus
Kate
I did the recipe with basil instead of parsley and didn't have any rosemary, but it turned out pretty flavorfully nonetheless! I also used 8oz ditalini an that was way too much pasta for the ratio, I don't know if it would have been different if I'd used a medium pasta shape instead. It also yielded much more than 2 portions. Big portions would be about 3, normal I'd say 4 or 5.
Kala
Prepared as written with a substitute of arugula for parsley. Also upped lemon zest and added lemon juice splash at the end. Needed additional salt at the end, but loved how this came together with simple ingredients!
justine
Easy and absolutely amazing. Don’t think it is fair to leave out the liquid then complain it is dry. Made as written and was so good !!!!!
CL
Great recipe. Didn’t have garlic, so I used anchovies for flavor. The recipe is listed as yielding two portions. I like big portions, and I would say this recipe yields at least 4.
neha
Excellent dish. I added a zucchini diced small. I’ll take reviewers advise next time and try 1 anchovy and capers. Good move to partially mash the chickpeas.
P Bossany
Great weeknight recipe! Made enough for 4 people for a light supper with a green side salad. Add extra lemon zest and parmesan to taste. Easy and delish!
Katherine
This was good, but needed a little jazzing up. Use all the lemon zest, plus juice to taste. Maybe next time a bit more garlic. Sautéing and anchovy or two with the garlic would be great. Was nice with a mix of herbs…dill, parsley, mint. Will make again, with modifications.
Harry Cook
Lacking chickpeas, I made this soul filling meal using white beans, (I used Alubia Blanca but most kinds would work) which I cooked from dry and broke down into a creamy delight without mashing. Also I added several handfuls of baby spinach at the end for a one pot meal (not counting the pasta) Added zest and juice of one lemon and an extra pinch of red pepper flakes.
Jeremy
rosemary muddles the simple tastes, so I omit that. Double lemon. Easy and good. Pair with a side salad and a cute date, and you've got a nice lil dinner
CL
Very good! I doubled the entire recipe (except for parsley - only used 3 cups), used the juice from the lemon, and added anchovy paste when sautéing the onions. Will make again.
lisa
Good. Two onions with 8 anchovy cooked down per Hazan recipe with several dashes wine and or water while pasta water cooking. Up ratio of fixings vs pasta. 250 g max
lisa
Agree no cheese in sauce, just on top. Brothy good. Cook onion a la hazan with anchovy shots of wine and water to really soften. Over time water comes to boil is enough time. No more than 250 g pasta. Beans work as well as chickpea. Don’t overmash.
BG Gruff
Rather spectacular. Like other users, I made a few mods to the recipe as well. Zest of a whole lemon and about 3/4 of the juice. I crushed and chopped 4 large garlic cloves (about 15 g each), hey we like garlic. I cut back the salt- lightly salted the water and a few light grinds on completion. I then added about a dozen pre-cooked large prawns and three large scallops cut into smaller chunks. Served with a seasonal salad, a full meal with generous leftovers for my wife's lunches.
KatieM
Delicious and easy to put together quickly. I felt it needed a bit more spice so added Calabrian chili powder along with the chili flakes. I also included the juice of the lemon along with the zest. Wonderful!
magnamosa
i used the pasta water as the liquid as others suggested. next time i would double the garlic rosemary and lemon as it was a bit too subtle. it seemed really soupy at first but the pasta and beans absorb the water quickly. good dish!
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