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Zucchini Chickpea Pasta
Difficulty level: easy
There is nothing better than cooking with fresh vegetables from your own garden. This pasta was made on the spur of the moment to make a centerpiece of our home-grown zucchini. It also happened to use a lot of food we already had! A pasta like this can be made quickly and easily with whatever fresh vegetables are available to you, and is a great way to make a meal out of them. Clear out your fridge or your garden, this is a delicious meal either way! Making pasta without a sauce seems odd to a lot of people, but it gives the ingredients a real chance to shine, without adding a ton of expensive ingredients. I love to make this pasta in the fall with roasted squash. Any roasted or grilled vegetable with some olive oil is delicious, really.
The only thing that I would change about this is the beets. I adore beets, and one of my favourite things about them is their amazing colour. The candy-stripe beets we bought started out with a beautiful striping of white and red, but faded to the yellowish-white of a potato. Not exciting! I would definitely replace them with regular beets next time, which would make the dish even more beautiful. My measurements for this recipe are pretty vague - use whatever looks good to you. The fun is in making something new and interesting!
The recipe calls for everything to be barbecued all at once (read the whole recipe before you start or you'll end up with ice-cold beets!), but if you can't fit it all it is very easy to cook the beets or chickpeas in the oven, or to do everything in steps - if the latter seems like the best to you, I recommend cooking the beets, then the chickpeas, then the zucchini. The beets will hold heat the best, and the zucchini will soften if you leave it out for too long.
INGREDIENTS
| 1 can | chickpeas |
| 1 medium | zucchini, sliced thickly |
| 4‑6 medium | beets, cut into a few large pieces, with the ends cut off |
| Fresh rosemary | |
| Pasta | |
| Olive oil | |
| Salt and pepper | |
| Shaved parmesan | |
PREPARATION:
- Wrap the beets in tin foil, with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. You don't need a lot. Place them on the barbecue at medium. Leave them for about 40 minutes, flipping them a few times. They should be fairly soft when they come out.
- While the beets are cooking, season the zucchini with olive oil, salt, and pepper (see a trend here?). Place them directly on the grill at medium-low (proceed to step 3 while they are cooking!). Flip them every few minutes. They should brown but not burn. When they are sufficiently browned (about 15 minutes, give or take), take them off the grill and slice them into large chunks.
- While the beets and zucchini are cooking, drain the chickpeas. Place them in a large pan that can go on the barbecue. I used a 9x13 pan, but something smaller than that will be fine if you have a small grill. Season the chickpeas with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle the leaves from a sprig of fresh rosemary over the chickpeas. Put the pan on the barbecue. Cook until the chickpeas are firm, but not tough. If they get tough, take them off immediately and put a bit more olive oil on them. They will soak up the liquid and soften a bit
- Make some pasta. Boil water, put the pasta in, drain when it's tender. Keep a little bit of the cooking water (no more than half a cup).
- When everything is cooked, place the chickpeas and beets in a large serving bowl. Put a bit of the cooking water over them and stir a bit. Pour the pasta on top and mix everything up. Add a bit more olive oil. Put the zucchini on top. Shave some parmesan on it (or leave it off for a completely vegan meal!) and serve immediately.
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