Pasta with Chickpeas

This wonderfully quick meal is a staple in our home. We fall back on this so often that it's kind of embarrassing...but I love it! You have to use butter, the meal just isn't the same without it. Butter adds a depth of flavor that you just don't experience using olive oil or other cooking fats. You can make your own pasta if you're so inclined but we use dried because it's faster and not nearly as much work. We paired this with a Bonny Doon 2005 Ferraris Piemonteses Blend (70% ruche, 20% barbera, and 10% syrah), which is wonderful on its own but didn't quite go with the spiciness of the pasta. I would recommend a Savignon Blanc instead. Optional additions this time were a zucchini and tomato cooked only by the heat of the finished chickpeas and pasta. Sometimes I'll sometimes cook up some white button mushrooms in white wine to add at the end but decided against it this time. Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest make this pasta incredibly fresh.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. dried pasta (small pastas work better, avoid noodles)

1 can garbanzo beans, drained (or 1/2 dried beans, soaked in at least 1 1/2 cups water for 6 hours and then simmered from 1 to 1 1/2 hours on the stovetop in as much water is necessary)

1 Tbs. butter

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 Tbs. parmesan cheese

Juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)

1 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

1 zucchini (optional)

1 tomato (optional)

1 Tbs. fresh herb of choice (parsley, basil, cilantro)

Bread crumbs

If using dried pasta: Bring 1 quart water to a boil. Salt and add the pasta, cook for as long as you are directed to do so. In the mean time...

melt the butter in a frying pan, before it gets hot add the garlic and red pepper flakes. If we put this in when the butter is hot we'll burn the butter, the garlic, and the pepper flakes, each of which has its own consequence but together spell utter disaster. Then...

Add chickpeas and about 1/4 cup water. Bring to a simmer and simmer until dry. Add the zucchini, tomato, and chopped herb and allow the hot chickpeas to cook the veggies for a few minutes.

Then add all this to the drained pasta and grate parmesan over all. Serve sprinkled with bread crumbs and extra parmesan.