Spaghetti alla Ceci

I found this recipe in Express Lane Meals by Rachael Ray. It's a great pasta recipe that is meat free and dairy free. You can have all the ingredients in stock and fix it when you need a quick meal. My family of 6 all ate it. I will say that it wasn't the prettiest dish. Next time I will probably try to chop the chickpeas (garbanzo beans) up even finer, so the sauce is smoother. I used a very strong blender, but a food processor would be nice for this meal prep.

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 14 oz. can chickpeas, drained
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 c. dry white wine or chicken stock (You can also use vegetable stock.)
1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
Salt
Pepper
Handful of fresh, flat-leaf parsley, chopped (Didn't have this on hand, so left it out.)
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (I grated fresh parmesan to sprinkle on top of each serving.)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to boil and then add the spaghetti and cook to al dente.

While you wait for the water to boil, drain the chickpeas and chop them in a food processor or blender until fine.
Then while the spaghetti cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, red pepper flakes, and garlic. Add the chickpeas to the skillet with the garlic and season them with the thyme, salt, and pepper. Sauté them for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine or stock and cook down for 30 seconds or so, then stir in the tomatoes and adjust the seasoning. Drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Top the pasta with the parsley and grated cheese.

Note: The red pepper flakes did give it a kick and it was hard to taste some of the other flavors. I plan to use less red pepper flakes next time. I loved that the sauce was done at the same time as the spaghetti. It was a fast meal prep.