Chickpeas, fennel, and rigatoni paired with plenty of mozzarella cheese create a fragrant, filling vegetarian dinner.
Aromatic and easy-as-anything to throw together, this fennel and chickpea pasta is the ideal midweek meal.
Giving fennel a little bit of time to cook down with tomatoes, onion, olive oil, and garlic creates a rich, fragrant sauce that coats tubular rigatoni perfectly. Mashing the chickpeas a bit as they cook gives the sauce body and makes it extra hearty. And broiled mozzarella just makes it extra tasty. What’s not to love?
Fennel is absolutely one of my favorite pasta sauce ingredients. It gives sauces a complex, sweet, spiced flavor that I just love. In this version, I pair it with chickpeas, tomatoes, and plenty of onion and garlic for a simple sauce that tastes anything but.
What you need
- Sauce: You’ll need onion, garlic, a fennel bulb, Roma tomatoes, and chickpeas.
- Pasta: I love this with a tubular pasta like rigatoni, but try it with spaghetti or linguine instead.
- For serving: I finish the pasta with shredded mozzarella and fronds from the fennel. If your fennel doesn’t have fronds, finishing with fresh parsley or basil will give it a nice herby finish.
How to make it
Step 1: Make the sauce.
Sauté the onion and fennel together first. Then add garlic. Add the chopped Roma tomatoes and chickpeas, along with a little water. Simmer the sauce, uncovered, for about 30 minutes until it reduces. Mash the chickpeas periodically to help thicken the sauce.
Step 2: Cook the pasta.
As the sauce cooks, boil the pasta until al dente. Reserve a little pasta water before draining.
Step 3: Finish the pasta.
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Scatter the shredded mozzarella cheese on top and finish with a little extra virgin olive oil. Transfer to the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and browned. Finish with a few fennel fronds and serve immediately.
Chickpea and Fennel Rigatoni
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (plus more for finishing)
- 1 yellow onion (peeled and finely diced)
- 1 fennel bulb (stems reserved for another use; bulb trimmed, cored, and finely diced; fronds reserved for garnish)
- 6 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
- 3 Roma tomatoes (cored and roughly chopped)
- 2 (15-ounce)cans chickpeas (drained)
- ½ cup water (plus more if needed)
- 12 ounces rigatoni
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (plus more to taste)
- 4 ounces shredded low-moisture mozzarella
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Sauté the aromatics:
- Heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add the onion and fennel and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes until they soften. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Add the Roma tomatoes and chickpeas. Season with salt, pepper, and ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper. Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Mash some of the chickpeas during cooking to create a thicker sauce. Add another splash or two of water if the sauce reduces too much. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and additional crushed red pepper if desired.
Cook the pasta:
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the rigatoni and cook according to the package directions until al dente. Scoop out ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta.
Finish the pasta:
- Turn on the broiler.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss to coat, adding the reserved pasta water if needed. Continue tossing until the pasta is coated.
- Scatter the shredded mozzarella cheese over the pasta and drizzle with a few teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil. Place the pot under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and browned. Remove from the broiler.
To serve:
- Finish the pasta with a few fennel fronds and serve immediately. Enjoy!
