Crushing on Chickpeas and Pasta

The temperatures here at CONDOR® are dropping outside every day, so having a good and fast soup recipe on hand is a great way to warm things up.  Crushing the tomatoes by hand is half the fun, and mashing the beans releases their starch to give the soup a nice creamy texture without needing any dairy added.  We even like to experiment with other kinds of beans and it’s just as tasty!   Thanks bonappetit.com!

Ingredients:
3+ Tbsp    Extra virgin olive oil
1                         Finely chopped small onion (we had yellow on hand)
3-4                     Sliced garlic cloves
1 sprig                Rosemary (dried works fine too in a pinch)
¼ tsp.                 Crushed red pepper flakes
15 oz. can          Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup                  Whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
6 oz.                  Short pasta of choice (we had rotini)
2 Tbsp.             Chopped parsley
3+ Tbsp.            Grated Parmesan

Directions:
1.    Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
2.    Add garlic, continue to cook and stir until just beginning to brown, about another 5 minutes.
3.    Add rosemary and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant for about 30 seconds.
4.    Add chickpeas and tomatoes.  Use a masher to crush about half of the chickpeas, and continue cooking and stirring occasionally until sauce is thickened slightly about 6-8 minutes.
5.    Add pasta and 4 cups of water.  Increase heat to bring to a simmer.  Cook and stir to prevent pasta from sticking, until pasta is al dente.  This will depend on the size and shape of the pasta, as well as recommended cooking time for that pasta.
6.    Stir in parsley and parmesan, season to taste with salt and black pepper
7.    Ladle into a bowl and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and more parmesan.