"I hate people who are not serious about their meals."

Oscar Wilde,
The Importance of Being Earnest

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Broccoli, Cauliflower, Chickpeas and Garlic



Here's one of our favourite go-to midweek meals.  Now, I know what you're thinking - "Frozen vegetables!? Doesn't exactly sound gourmet".  But they're good to have around in case you run our of fresh produce, and trust me, if you tasted it you'd never know the difference.  Cooking the vegetables while they're still frozen means they crisp up perfectly as they absorb the garlic/chili/oil mixture.  
This is a speedy, (relatively) healthy and great tasting meal, and you probably have all of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry right now.  The original recipe was made using brocolli only, but we prefer to use a broccoli and cauliflower mix to add further texture, flavour and colour.  It says it serves four - well, that really depends on how hungry you are! My husband and I have polished off the whole lot on one occasion, but there's usually some left over for lunch the next day.  If you're not one for chili, you could easily omit it and lift the flavours with a good squeeze of lemon juice at the end.


Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Broccoli, Cauliflower, Chickpeas and Garlic 
adapted from Gourmet
serves 4

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried hot red chili flakes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 packages (approx 12oz/300g each) frozen chopped mixed broccoli and cauliflower
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 pound whole-wheat spaghetti
finely grated parmesan or pecorino romano

Heat the oil in a large pan over moderate heat. Add the garlic and chili flakes and cook, stirring, for a few minutes or until golden. Add the broccoli, cauliflower and salt, making sure to break up any frozen clumps. Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are thawed and tender-crisp, around 6 minutes.  Stir in the chickpeas and cook until heated through. 

Cook pasta according to packet directions, until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and then drain the pasta.  Add the pasta and reserved water to the pan with the broccoli and chickpea mixture. Tossing, cook over moderate heat until well combined.  Serve topped with grated parmesan, and drizzle with a little additional oil or a squeeze of lemon juice, if desired.

2 comments:

Izzy said...

Sublime. Brocolli, chickpeas, cheese, and lemon sound like such an interesting combination!

Unknown said...

Wow--that looks amazing!! I will try this for sure--always looking for good vegetarian recipes for Jane!!

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