Presto Pasta Night: Gemelli With Garbanzos

My intention was to make some won tons yesterday, but I couldn't find the time.  So, I settled on this amazingly fast pantry recipe.  I decided to use items on hand, and surveying my pantry I saw canned garbanzo beans and my favorite pasta, gemelli.  Both of these ingredients are often paired together in Italian cooking, because they work together beautifully.   With the addition of basil, sliced red bell peppper, garlic, and parmesan, this was a good tasting, fast recipe.  I have an electic kettle that heats water quickly, so that cut the preparation time. All together, it took me barely 15 minutes to make this dish.  I love dawdling in the kitchen, making a long, drawn out meal. But, there are other times when I'd rather stick a fork in my eye than spend a lot of time cooking. This was one of those moments.  I can't say that this is my favorite gemelli recipe, but it was good tasting.

 

The original recipe didn't call for the red pepper, but it easily adapts to adding other ingredients.  I could have used fresh picked tomatoes, but since speed was my concern, I used petite cut canned tomatoes.  They were pretty good, but garden tomatoes would have been much better.  This recipe was made for Presto Pasta Night created by the lovely Ruth at Once Upon A Feast.  She'll have a Roundup tomorrow with delicious pasta recipes from around the world. Do check it out.

Pasta with Garbanzo Beans

American Profile

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Ingredients
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 pound fusilli or gemelli pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 16-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 heaping cup of fresh basil, sliced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
a healthy pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)

Instructions

Prepare pasta according to package instructions, making sure not to overcook. When pasta is almost done, sauté garlic, red pepper and bell peppers in olive oil in a separate saucepan for about 2 minutes. Stir tomatoes and beans into the oil and heat through. The pasta should be done at the same time the other ingredients are hot. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot it cooked in, then add the garbanzo mixture.  Toss this together with the cheese and basil. Season to taste with lots of freshly ground pepper. Serves 4 to 6.

Comments

[Anh]

This must be a recipe for chickpea lovers (like me!). Lovely color and delicious looking!

[Ruth]

Great combo. We had gemelli with goat cheese and basil this week...same reason...need something quick and delicious. The gemelli are so cute, how could you not love them.

Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

[Katie]

Love chickpeas; love pasta; really love quick (for the same reasons)!
Now if I could only find gemelli...they ARE cute!

[Rosa]

What a wonderful dish! It's a great idea to combine garbanzos with pasta. Pleasantly colorful and super tasty!

Cheers,

Rosa

[Glenna]

I feel healthier just looking at it and I love how fast it went together.

[Belinda]

Sher, everything you cook looks so darn good! This really looks wonderful. :-)

[e]

Sher,

I made your version of this for my roommate the night before she ran the half marathon here in Philly. Not only did she love it, but she completed the race even faster than she expected to!

Still loving your blog, even though I've been lazy about commenting lately.