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Whole Wheat Penne with Chickpeas and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Whole Wheat Penne with Chickpeas and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

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Whole Wheat Penne with Chickpeas, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and roasted garlic is a delicious and healthy vegan pasta dish. A delicious summer meal.

People tend to avoid eating dried legumes during summer but combining them with whole wheat penne we have a  delicious, vegan, summer dish not only full of flavor and taste but also rich in protein, fiber, carbohydrates and vitamins.

The only fat in the dish is the olive oil, which makes it a very healthy dish. 

Leftovers are even better the following day and the pasta can even be eaten cold as a salad.

By roasting the cherry tomatoes they become even sweeter.  The chickpeas add body to the dish, the gherkins add a crunch and the pesto and roasted garlic more flavour. 

The capers balance the sweet taste of the tomatoes making this dish irresistible.

The preparation can be done beforehand, even two or three days before.

I usually cook more chickpeas and keep some in the deep freezer, for days when I am really busy and want a quick but nutritious meal. 

Of course, if you use canned chickpeas then the cooking time is also much less.

Another trick is to roast cherry tomatoes and preserve them. 

You then put them in clean, sterilized jars, fill them with olive oil and keep them for a very long time in the refrigerator.

I do the same with roasted garlic.

The olive oil is a natural preservative, so be sure to replace it if you use some and always keep them covered with olive.   

If you do not want to roast garlic just add a few cloves in the pan when roasting the cherry tomatoes.

This way the next time you make your pasta dish you will not need more than 20 minutes.

If, however, you decide to do everything from scratch, you will need about an hour and thirty minutes, provided you cook everything simultaneously.

How to cook Whole Wheat Penne with Chickpeas and Roasted Tomatoes

Pre-cooking some of the ingredients:

Soak the chickpeas from the evening. Bring to a boil and skim them. Change the water and when they begin boiling, add salt and simmer covered until soft.

Cooked chickpeas image

(If you do this in advance, let them cool, put them in a bowl with a lid and refrigerate.  If you cook a larger batch you can store them in zip lock bags in the deep freezer).

While the chickpeas are cooking, wash the tomatoes, cut them in half, sprinkle with coarse sea salt, pepper and oregano, (add garlic as well) add the olive oil and bake in a preheated oven at 180 ° C for half an hour.

When they cool, you can keep them in the refrigerator for a couple of days or preserve them as explained above.

Seasoning cherry tomatoes image

Boil the whole wheat penne in salted water for 9 minutes or according to package instructions. (If they are cooked ahead, after the draining them, add some olive oil and mix to coat them.  That will prevent them from sticking together.  Store covered, in the fridge).

Whole wheat pasta image

Whenever I make pesto, I do not add cheese in it and I store the leftover pesto in the deep freezer.  

Pesto image

You can either put it in ice cubes or in small bowls.  You can cut it easily without thawing and when you add it to the hot pasta, it will melt in a few minutes.

roasted garlic image

As regards roasted garlic, I always have some in my fridge.

Penne with roasted tomatoes photo

Penne with Chickpeas and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Whole Wheat Penne with Chickpeas, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and roasted garlic is a delicious and healthy vegan pasta dish. A delicious summer meal.

Ingredients

  • 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • Salt, pepper, oregano
  • 200 grams of cooked chickpeas
  • Salt
  • 250 grams whole-wheat penne
  • 2 roasted garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • 2 gherkins, cut into slices
  • 10 green olives, pitted and chopped
  • 1 tbsp mint or other pesto of your choice
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Instructions

  1. Cook the chickpeas or use canned chickpeas.
  2. Roast the cherry tomatoes.
  3. Roast the garlic.
  4. Prepare the pesto or used store bought pesto.
  5. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
  6. Add the roasted garlic and a tablespoon olive oil from the roasted garlic and mash it in the frying pan  Saute for a couple of seconds and then add the cooked pasta and roasted tomatoes with some of its juices as well as the chickpeas and stir until heated.
  7. Finally mix in the pesto, capers, pickled gherkins and parsley.
  8. Taste and if necessary add a little salt.
  9. Serve with freshly grated black pepper on top.

Notes

If you cook all the ingredients from scratch, you will need an extra hour.

Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 430Total Fat 25gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 19gCholesterol 4mgSodium 595mgCarbohydrates 44gFiber 8gSugar 10gProtein 11g

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Tried this recipe? Tag me @ivyliac and use the hashtag #kopiaste!

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Grabusereave

Tuesday 15th of July 2014

Oh these recipes are awesome, tasty as well as healthy. I am just home alone and I am going to try it for my launch.

Simona

Monday 7th of July 2014

I agree with Jamie: you have put together a nice combination of ingredients to dress the pasta.

Jamie

Tuesday 24th of June 2014

Funny thing, Ivy, I was just wondering what else I could do with roasted cherry tomatoes since I love them. Pairing them with chickpeas (which I love) in pasta is a great idea! Although we add gherkins to cold pasta salads and olives to hot pasta dishes, I would have never thought to bring them together like this. I love this dish, easy and summery.

Ivy

Tuesday 24th of June 2014

Thank you Jamie. I think that gherkins and olives as well as capers can easily be added to hot or cold pasta dishes.

Reeni

Tuesday 24th of June 2014

You packed so many wonderful ingredients and flavors into this! Delicious Ivy! I could eat this every night.

Angie (

Sunday 22nd of June 2014

This is my kind of everyday meal. Simple, delicious and healthy!

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