This is a recipe that I’ll definitely be adding to my arsenal of quick dinners recipes AND meal prep recipes. Why?

– This took me 20 minutes, start to finish.

– This will satisfy your pasta cravings while sneaking some bean proteins in.

– It’s wicked cheap!

– Goya beans flow like wine in NYC, so it’ll be easy to find a can of chickpeas. Ha!

There isn’t much else to say; I feel that I could pad this post if I wanted to. I just whipped it up, photographed it, ate it, packed a bunch in Gladware to bring to work for the week, and DONE.

Backtracking: After I photographed it, I sat on my kitchen counter and ate a small bowl of it while my neighbors watched me from their kitchen window.

I can only imagine what they think of me when I’m standing on my wicker stool, towering 4 feet above my butcher block, head down, massive DSLR in hand. I’d like to think that they’re jealous they don’t get to eat the awesome food I’m creating!

Yeah…yeah…that’s it…

Pasta con Ceci
(Based on the Food 52 recipe for Pasta con Ceci)
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

-3 cups boiling water
-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
-3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
-3 tablespoons tomato paste (I use Muir Glen organic tomato paste)
-1 teaspoon salt
-1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
-1 & 1/2 cups uncooked wagon wheel pasta

Before We Get Started…

– If you don’t have wagon wheel pasta, ditalini or another small shape works well! If you live near a Whole Foods location that has the bulk bins with dinosaur-shaped pasta, DO IT. Life’s too short not to!

– The consistency of the tomato paste adds to this dish, so please do not substitute tomato sauce in its place.

Directions:

1.) In a large saucepan, heat water and bring to a slow boil.

2.) While the water is coming to a boil, heat olive oil on low heat in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add garlic and cook and stir until soft; you can allow the garlic to slightly brown, but do not let it burn!

3.) Add tomato paste and stir for 30 seconds. Add salt, chickpeas, dried pasta, and boiling water. Stir to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Keep heat at medium-low and simmer until the pasta is cooked and the liquid has reduced, roughly 15 minutes.

4.) To serve, ladle into bowls and drizzle with extra olive oil, if desired. If meal-prepping or if there are leftovers, this will last in the fridge up to four days.