Trofie Pasta with Arugula and Saffron Chickpea Sauce
Servings: 4 servings
Calories:
Creamy, flavorful, and incredibly delicious, this chickpea pasta sauce is the perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner! It is simple to prepare and is ready in 30 minutes. This amazing sauce is nutritious, satisfying, and inexpensive. Blended chickpeas are the base of this vegan chickpea pasta sauce that's naturally creamy and packed with protein and fiber. This is a light yet delicious pasta sauce that comes together in just 30 minutes for a healthy dinner with none of the guilt.
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Equipment
- Stock Pot
- High speed Blender
Ingredients
- 1 lb trofie pasta
- 4-5 cups arugula 8 0z bag rinsed
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts for garnish optional
- ¼ cup chickpeas for garnish optional
Chickpea Sauce
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas liquid and 1/4 cup chickpeas reserved
- 2-3 pinches saffron bloomed in hot pasta water
- ⅓ cup dried tomatoes soaked and rehydrated in hot pasta water
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme leaves removed from stems
- 1 tsp nutrional yeast add more to taste
- ½ tsp garlic granules
- ½ tsp onion granules
- pepper to taste
- salt to taste optional ~ there is enough salt in the chickpeas, pasta water, and nutritional yeast for my preference so I don't add any salt.
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil, and cook trofie pasta according to package instructions, or until al dente. Reserve about 3 cups of pasta water, then drain the pasta and set both aside in separate pans.
- Place saffron in a small bowl and pour 1/4 cup or more of hot pasta water over to bloom.Place dried tomatoes in a small bowl and pour 1/2 cup or more of hot pasta water over to rehydrate.
- In a high-speed blender, add all ingredients needed for chickpea pasta sauce. Add ½ cup of hot pasta water. Blend for a 2-3 minutes until smooth.
- Use extra pasta water and/or aquafaba to reach the consistency of an alfredo sauce. This sauce will thicken upon sitting so hang on to the remaining paster water for use as needed.
- Toss in pasta, arugula, and sauce mix until everything is well incorporated.
- Serve and enjoy while warm.
- Garnish with Chickpeas and Pinenuts
Notes
- Remember to salt your pasta cooking water. Salting the cooking water helps the flavor of pasta to develop.
- Using chickpeas on the softer and mushier side to aid blending. Oraganic can brands tend to be harder than the lower proceed brands but do be watchful of the sodium content. If your canned chickpeas are hard, you could take the extra step to boil them for 10-15 minutes.
- Use a high-speed blender to blend your chickpea pasta sauce for a good few minutes to yield the smoothest sauce.
Adjust the amount of pasta water or use reserved aquafaba to achieve desired consistency. I love a thicker sauce, but you could add more water if you prefer it to be thinner. - This dish is best eaten warm as the sauce will thicken up the longer it sits. However, you can quickly fix thick sauce by adding a splash of water or plant milk, then reheating it.
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days. Add a splash of water, vegetable stock, or plant-based milk to thin out the sauce during reheating.
