Beans & Bows

This recipe was such a fixture of my childhood that I never even realized how apocalypse-friendly it is. It can be improved with fresh garlic and a nice parmesan or similar hard cheese, but works just fine without those. Keep in mind that braising pasta— that is cooking it in a simmering sauce— takes longer than boiling and requires frequent stirring. This recipe is easier with a food processor or immersion blender.

1 lbs dried farfalle pasta

2 x 16 oz cans chickpeas or white beans[1]

1/2 tsp garlic powder (or 4 cloves fresh garlic)

1/3 cups olive oil

1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled

14 oz can crushed tomatoes

3 cubes chicken bouillon in 3 cups water (or 3 cups chicken stock)

**optional** - a small amount of dried chilis, chili flakes, or cayenne powder

Salt

Black pepper

1/4 c grated parmesan[2]

1. Heat the olive oil in a pot large enough to contain all of the ingredients, including the pasta.

2. If you are using fresh garlic, saute the cloves whole until dark brown on all sides, then discard them.

3. Add the chickpeas and cook them until they start to blister and turn golden in spots.

4. Add the tomatoes, the rosemary, the bouillon or stock and the optional chilis. If you are using garlic powder, add it now.

5. Simmer for 20 minutes.

6. At this point, you want to grind half the chickpeas to a loose paste. You can do this either by a few short bursts immersion blending, until the liquid in the pot is somewhat thickened, but plenty of whole chickpeas still remain; or by removing half of the chickpeas to a food processor, along with a few ounces of liquid, processing them, and then returning them to the pot.

7. Once the pot has returned to a boil, add salt to taste, then add the pasta and boil until tender, stirring as necessary to avoid sticking.

8. Add black pepper and parmesan and serve immediately.



[1] You can substitute 2 cups of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, but this recipe does not particularly benefit from the arguably superior texture of dried chickpeas.

[2] A hard cheese like parmesan can last several months if it is kept cool. If there’s mold on the outside, the inside should still be fine— just cut away the mold. But some day, there will be no more parmesan. After an appropriate period of grieving, you may omit the parmesan and make this recipe anyway.