Going Gluten Free with Chickpeas

My husband is so easy to cook for.

Over the years he’s been receptive to ALL the styles of cooking I’ve explored. Macrobiotic, Vegetarian, Whole30 – you name it, we’ve eaten it!

With rare exception he enjoys the recipes I create and always acknowledges the time, thought, and care I put into cooking and supporting our health spans. So much so that he encouraged me to build The Healthful Kitchen!

But even he was skeptical when he saw the box of chickpea pasta on the counter. However, that first bite, taken with immense trepidation (he is of Italian descent!) turned into an empty bowl and then another empty bowl.

While our kitchen isn’t gluten free at the moment, chickpea pasta will definitely make another appearance.

This recipe checks all The Healthful Kitchen boxes:

• Healthful: The chickpea pasta feels lighter – yet satisfying, and is easy to digest.
• Simple: Shopping, cooking, serving, and cleaning up are FAST!
• Affordable: This dish came in at $8.90 for dinner for 2 (not including pantry staples of EVOO, sea salt & sprinkle of parm)

Chickpea Pasta with Broccoli Rabe & Sausage

• Author: Heather Habelka, TheHealthfulKitchen.com
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 15
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 2 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 Bunch Broccoli Rabe $2.70 (on sale at Whole Foods this week)
• 2 Italian Sausage Links – Hot, Mild, or 1 of each! $3.01 (also on sale this week)
• 1 Box (8 oz.) Chickpea Shells $3.19
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt
• Parmesan Cheese (optional)

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Instructions

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.
2. Cut off bottoms of broccoli rabe – about an inch (like you’re putting fresh flowers into a vase).
3. Chop florets & stems into bite size pieces.
4. Rinse & dry completely.
5. Heat 1 Tbsp. EVOO in a medium sauté pan (I use cast iron) over medium-low heat.
6. Remove casing and break sausage into bite-size pieces.
7. Add sausage to the pan and cook through.
8. While the sausage is cooking, your water will come up to a rolling boil.
9. Add 1 Tbsp. salt to the water. I don’t add salt to the water until I’m ready to cook the pasta. Adding it too early can make the water, and the pasta, intensely salty!
10. Drop your pasta. This type of pasta cooks fast and should be al dente after 5 minutes. Be sure to set your timer!
11. Add additional Tbsp. EVOO to the cooked sausage.
    NOTE: This is the sauce for the pasta so depending on how much fat renders from the sausage, you may need to add more EVOO at this stage or when you add in the broccoli rabe and/or the pasta.
12. Toss in broccoli rabe and cook for 3-5 minutes just until rawness is gone but it’s still crunchy & bright green in color.
13. Add pasta directly to the sausage and broccoli rabe using a slotted spoon. Don’t worry about any water that gets carried over, it will enrich the sauce!
14. Toss everything together on low heat.
15. Add a touch more EVOO if needed.
16. Top with a sprinkle of parmesan OR sea salt (parm is really salty so you won’t need both).
17. Serve immediately!

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