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- Makes 10 cups
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This vibrant, healthy gluten-free pasta dish comes together in just 30 minutes and is delicious hot or cold, making it a handy recipe to keep in your weekday-meal repertoire. Nutrient-dense chickpea rotini adds extra heft. Aleppo pepper is made from crushed dried Halaby chiles and has a pleasantly complex flavor (smoky, sweet, and tangy) that rounds out the flavors of the dish, but crushed red pepper will work well, too. Add a little more if you like heat.
By Shelli McConnell,
Ingredients
- 12 oz. dried chickpea rotini pasta
- 8 oz. fresh thin asparagus, cut into 1-inch lengths
- 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup baby kale
- 1 medium avocado, halved, seeded, and peeled
- 1 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper
- Sea salt, to taste
- Chopped fresh dill
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions; drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water. Return pasta to pot.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook asparagus and tomatoes over medium-high, stirring frequently and adding water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, as needed to prevent sticking.
- In a blender combine the next five ingredients (through garlic). Cover and blend until smooth, adding about ½ cup pasta cooking water to make a smooth sauce. Add sauce and Aleppo pepper to pasta in pot. Toss to combine, adding an additional ¼ to ½ cup pasta cooking water as needed for desired consistency. Season with salt.
- Spoon pasta into bowls. Top with asparagus mixture and sprinkle with dill and additional Aleppo pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.
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Comments (26)
(5 from 15 votes)This was a fast easy base recipe that I will be making again. I only had regular curly kale on hand and I used the stripped leaf portion from two leaves as my cup of kale. I also didn’t have a fresh lemon so used bottled lemon juice and some lemon oil/extract instead of the zest. I also used regular pasta and two diced Roma tomatoes instead of the the cherry tomatoes and no spicy anything and it was still very good. I also only had dried dill that I sprinkled on but my husband really liked it and so did I. I will be making it again and probably using different veggies as I have them, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, different color sweet peppers, etc. And adding chick pease or tofu cubes as desired for more heft so I can send it with my husband for a lunch meal. This is a great base recipe that can be adjusted in many, many ways to taste. Might try the sauce with spinach too and some cilantro and add black beans and corn to the veggies. So many options!
My family loved this recipe! Next time adding chick peas to get more protein in the meal.
What are the calorie counts on your recipes? I would love to use them more but none have nutrients or calories listed?
This is a recurring meal in our house! Love this simple healthy recipe. I will admit to using whole wheat pasta instead of chickpea, but it is more likely to get eaten by the rest of my family that way! The sauce is so good!
The chick pea pasta is like wet sand. I made this recipe for a party - no one ate it.
I think the pasta must’ve been over cooked maybe…I’ve tried the Banza brand and it’s great (coming from someone who loves their pasta and doesn’t like to deviate pasta ingredients )
I agree with Jennifer's comment - Banza Chickpea pastas are the best. I serve them to regular eaters and nobody can tell the difference.
This recipe was quick, fairly easy and very good. We added mushrooms which added some umami. I’d say the recipe made 4 generous servings. And the peppers add some zest. We added more
It sounds great; minus the hot dang peppers. That is what has been our frustration with many of the recipes. Always with the hot, is that what makes it doable. I find melding the flavors in the herbs and veggies can give it a 5 star rating... Sorry that's just us though. love y'all no matter! I'm gonna try this minus the hot stuff! I might add onion and basil with roasting the tomatoes and yellow bell peppers; adding some of our fresh ground pepper.
Made this for a potluck bbq. Served it cold. Everyone loved it. It was first side to finish. It was so simple to make.
Brilliant! Creamy, great balance of flavours and super quick (it IS actually 30 mins ). We’ll be making this a few times in the future for sure :)) Thank You!!
I can't wait to try this recipe. I have all the ingredients except the avocado. Can you suggest a substitute? Thank you for some great recipes.
This was fantastic!!
This dish is so delicious! I have made it for my family, and they all loved it. If you have a toddler, this dish works very well as they can grab the pasta with their hands and they get a good serving of veggies even if they don't eat the asparagus and/or tomatoes. Also, I'm allergic to avocados (itchy lips and throat, a little nausea), but this sauce wasn't strong enough to set off my allergy.
My daughter won’t eat asparagus, suggestions for a tried and true substitute?
Peas are a great replace!
green beans
Zucchini
I enjoy The recipes that I get from this website they are all always so satisfied
This is now my favorite pasta dish. I cannot eat kale so I substituted spinach. I also added about a quarter cup each of sliced onion and poblano pepper to the asparagus and tomatoes because I did not have, nor could I fnd, the Alepo pepper where I live. I threw in about a 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, too. Both of us love it and I have made this about five times now! SOOOOOOoooo good and healthy!
I have also made this with zoodles (zucchini noodles) and with spaghetti squash. Turns out great every time!
The dish was good, although I do feel like the sauce lacked just a little bit of seasoning. I will be making it again, perhaps with a little something extra in the sauce. Great recipe!
Wow, this was delicious. Couldn’t stop eating it! Thanks again FOK for an easy and tasty dish.
This dish is excellent! The whole family loved it, and I wish I had doubled the veggies. This is another FOK recipe that will make it into my regular rotation.
I love this recipe. My kids love it. I threw different veggies in it since that's what I had on hand.
Sounds yummy, if it makes 10 cups - is a cup a serving? How many cups would you recommend per person?