This recipe is how I trick my family into eating more veggies and legumes.
Ingredients For 2 Servings
- 1 tbs of EVO oil
- 1 clove of garlic and parsley
- 1 cup of broccoli (100g)
- 1 cup of mushrooms (70g)
- 1 tbs of soy sauce
- Salt to taste
- 1 and 1/2 cups of canned chickpeas (240g)
- 1 and 1/3 cup of pasta (140g). That’s the amount we use to make; however, you can adjust it based on your daily calorie intake
- 1/2 a lemon
- Grated Parmesan cheese (not necessary, but suggested for a boost of flavor)
- 1 tsp of tahini sauce (optional alternative)
Total time needed: 30-35 minutes overall.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Start with a medium pan; heat the EVO oil and brown the garlic and the parsley so they release all the flavor.
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Rinse the veggies. I used fresh, pre-chopped veggies; however, you can dice or slice them as you prefer if you buy them whole. Meanwhile, if you are using the frozen veggies, the recipe works the same, but you are going to skip the part when you add water to the pan.
Add the broccoli and the mushrooms to the pan and stir it for 4 or 5 minutes, until the mushrooms start releasing their own water and you can see them softening. Here is the first trick: always add salt and water to cook veggies after the mushrooms have released all their water, so they hold all the flavor and consistency without getting mushy.
At this point, add half of the chickpeas, a cup of water, soy sauce, and salt. Let it simmer and add a bit of water if needed. We want all the ingredients to be soft yet hold their shape. It should take 10 minutes to cook, but keep checking; we want to cook it until fork-tender and then turn it off.
Take a pot and put the water on to boil. When the water is boiling, add salt and cook the pasta. You can choose the pasta you prefer; I suggest the short ones like penne or macaroni, but it’s totally on you.
While you are cooking the pasta, let’s make the super creamy sauce: blend the other half of the chickpeas, 1/2 of the water (you can take it from the pot so it’s going to be even tastier), lemon, salt, and pepper. If you want to boost it, you can either add Parmesan cheese or a tbs of tahini sauce. Both of them work amazingly; however, remember to add a bit more water if you choose the tahini sauce.
When the pasta is ready, everything will be too: save a glass of boiling water (you should always do that as it can always be useful if you want to fix the cream consistency) and drain the pasta, then add it to the pan with the cream too and mix everything together.
Optional: Add a bit of boiling water and stir a little bit if you prefer it more watery, or leave it as is if you prefer a drier recipe. You can adjust it as you prefer here. Now serve, and enjoy!
A second trick I want to give you: If your children or family members, or even yourself, don’t really like eating veggies, you can play it smart with this recipe: instead of blending just half of chickpeas, you could either blend them all or even add the veggies, so they are going to actually be eating yet they won’t be in the dish. This is an amazing and easy way to get a better fiber intake without even realizing.
Creamy Mushroom and Broccoli Pasta with Chickpea Sauce
Ingredients
Method
- Rinse and chop the broccoli and mushrooms. Heat the olive oil in a medium pan and lightly brown the garlic and parsley.
- Add the broccoli and mushrooms. Stir for 4–5 minutes, until the mushrooms soften and release their water.
- Add half the chickpeas, 1 cup water, the soy sauce and salt to taste. Simmer for about 10 minutes until fork-tender, adding a little water if needed. If using frozen vegetables, omit the initial cup of water as directed in the original recipe.
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it and cook the pasta.
- Blend the remaining chickpeas with the lemon juice, salt, pepper and enough pasta-cooking water to make a creamy sauce. Add Parmesan or tahini if desired, adding a little more water when using tahini.
- Reserve a glass of the pasta-cooking water, then drain the pasta. Add the pasta and chickpea sauce to the vegetable pan and mix. Loosen with a little reserved water to your preferred consistency, then serve.