I absolutely adore the simplicity of this dish. It really takes few humble ingredients to the next level creating a so simple but oh so delicious pasta dish. I love using legumes in pasta dishes as they make them much filing and nutritiously balanced and they really add an extra consistency to the recipe. This pasta really comes to life when you drizzle the sage oil so please don’t skip it as it’s really key to make everything extra delicious! 

Ingredients: 

Serves 2-3 people 

1 white onion – chopped into quarters 

1 carrot – chopped into chunks 

1 celery stick – chopped into pieces 

4 garlic cloves 

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

A generous handful of fresh sage leaves 

1 can of chickpeas (400gr) drained and rinsed 

1 tsp of chilli flakes 

3-4 tablespoon of olive oil 

Salt & pepper to taste

Mezzi Rigatoni or ditalini to serve -about 300/400gr

Add the onion, carrot, celery and 2 clove of garlic and pulse until finely minced.  Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat. Once hot add in the minced veggies. Add a pinch of salt and cook for 8-10 minutes until they have soften. Add in the tomato paste and about 1 cup of water. Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat down to a simmer and cook for another 5 minutes. Add in the drained chickpeas with 2 more cups of water. Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes until the liquid has reduced. 

In the meantime cook the pasta.

With a hand blender blend about 1/2 of the chickpea pasta sauce, making sure to no blitz it all so it retain a chunky consistency. 

Add the remaining oil to another pan and once hot add in the remaning garlic cloves finely chopped and the fresh sage. Fry the sage and garlic for few minutes until the sage leaves go all nice and crispy. Make sure to stir from time to time to prevent the garlic from burning. 

Drain the pasta but reserve about 3 tablespoons of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the pan with the chickpea pasta sauce with the cooking water. Mix everything together and pour over the sage oil. Serve with some vegan parmesan style cheese if you fancy!