Bonus Recipe: Chickpea & Salami Pasta
A rustic pasta made in 30 minutes or less
Hello Friends!
Inspiration for this recipe came from the same place many of my easy dinner recipes come from: Desperation. It was 5:30pm on a Sunday, the family was hungry and the fridge was mostly empty. I needed dinner on the table quickly and with little effort. I scanned the kitchen shelves and found linguine, half a red onion, canned chickpeas and a small stack of salami that was leftover from school lunches the previous week. I threw it all together with a generous drizzle of olive oil, some garlic and parmesan and it turned into a flavorful pasta dinner that I’ve made several times since.
This is a simple, rustic meal, nothing fancy but really satisfying nevertheless. I like to serve this chickpea and salami pasta with an arugula salad on the side, or, mix the arugula directly into your bowl of noodles.
Chickpea & Salami Pasta
NEW RECIPE FORMAT: I’m trying a new written recipe format where I include the ingredient amount twice, once at the top of the recipe and also in the instructions. If you’re cooking on your phone, this prevents you from having to scroll up every time you add an ingredient, to check how much to add. Hopefully this makes cooking easier for you!
Servings: 4 to 6
Cooking Method: Boil pasta, saute other ingredients
Prep & Cooking Time: About 30 minutes
A printable pdf of the recipe can be found at the bottom of the page.
Questions? If you have any questions about this recipe, just ask in the comments!
Ingredients
1 pound linguine
¼ cup olive oil
2 cans of chickpeas - drain and shake extra liquid off in a colander but do NOT rinse the chickpeas with water (water adds unnecessary moisture)
2 to 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped or thinly sliced red onion (about ½ a large onion)
4 ounces/18 slices* of thinly sliced salami, cut into thin strips (use a sharp knife or kitchen shears)
ALSO: Grated cheese (parmesan, pecorino or Manchego) + salt and pepper
*The salami amount is approximate, you can use more salami or a little less. Use any type of thinly sliced salami from the deli or pre-packaged at the grocery store.
Instructions
Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
While the water is beginning to boil and the pasta is cooking, warm 1/4 cup olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat.
Add 2 cans of drained chickpeas, 1 cup thinly sliced red onion and about 18 slices (or a little less) of sliced salami. Cook until the onion is soft, the chickpeas are lightly browned and the salami is getting crispy, about 8 minutes. Stir occasionally to move everything around. Use a back of a spatula to smash some of the chickpeas while they cook.
Add 2 to 4 thinly sliced garlic cloves and stir well; cook for about 30 seconds more then turn off the heat.
Drain the pasta (don’t rinse).
Combine the pasta with the chickpeas and salami in a very large bowl and toss really well to coat the pasta in flavor. Use a spatula to scrape every little bit of the olive oil, garlic, crispy salami bits, etc..that remain in the skillet over the pasta. This is important, or your pasta won’t have all the flavor it needs!
Top with a very generous amount of grated cheese (parmesan, pecorino or Manchego.) Make sure to add both salt and pepper to the pasta, and maybe a dash or red pepper flakes.
Recipe Notes
Don’t skimp on the amount of olive oil or the pasta will be dry.
You can add fresh herbs before serving (basil, oregano or parsley).
I mix the pasta in a large bowl rather than the skillet because it gives you more room to easily toss the pasta and coat all of the noodles.
Serve with an arugula salad or add arugula into your bowl of pasta.
