Pasta with Spinach in a Tarragon Chickpea Sauce

Oh my word. I love chickpeas. Love. I don’t know why they are so comforting for me but I absolutely love them.  My poor husband, who never does the grocery shopping, volunteered to go with my three-year old son. What I thought was an easy list, ended up being a three-hour tour in the grocery store! One of the items that threw him off was “Chickpeas.” I probably should have mentioned they are AKA garbanzo beans….oops. Although I did write, “International Aisle” next to the word, I put him on a while goose chase. While I was bored at the house, I decided to clean out my pantry and realized, I have FOUR cans of beans! By the time, he called and said, “I finally found them!” I didn’t want to disappoint his hard work so I thanked him and used them in a recipe today. My pantry is now filled with garbanzo beans (and I love that!)

So what to make with these little fellows? Spiced chickpeas? Hummus? Nah… let’s go for something different, let’s reach for the stars and make a creamy sauce! What a true winner but don’t take my word, make it yourself!

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound of spaghetti
  • 4 cups fresh spinach
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 pint of heavy whipping cream
  • 1 can (15 oz) Garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 Tbs tarragon (more to garnish)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • Salt and Pepper

YUMS DIRECTIONS:

1. Add water to a large sauce pan for your spaghetti noodles.

2. Melt butter over low in a separate saucepan for the sauce (move that baby around to get it to melt and YES that’s some mmhmmm lots of butter!)

3. Add garlic and chickpeas to the butter

4. Season with pepper (I didn’t use salt because the beans have enough in them. Use your judgement. I’m not a big salt fan.)

5. Add heavy whipping cream and tarragon and stir.

6. Turn heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.

7. Turn heat to low and cover for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

8. Meanwhile, add spaghetti noodles to the boiling water. Cook pasta according to directions.

9.  When your sauce pan has reached ten minutes, stir in Parmesan cheese and turn the heat off. Cover and let rest. (It will thicken)

9. It should look like this when sauce is finished:

10. Either use an immersion blender or a food processor to turn into a smooth consistency. Place lid on top to keep warm.

11. When pasta is finished cooking, add spinach to the water. The spinach will start to wilt. Drain the pasta.

12. Mix the sauce with the pasta to combine. Serve with extra Parmesan cheese or garnish with tarragon.

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