Chickpea & Chorizo Fideos ♥ Week One, Day Two - EatingWell Meal Plan

I adore fideos and this recipe does not disappoint. The use of angel hair pasta resulted in a ton of food and I actually used less pasta called for in the recipe.

Angel hair pasta is like orzo, it swells to 5x the dry size and a one pound box could easily feed 8 people. Add a can of chickpeas and you could stretch that to 10. It makes sense to eat pastas whose volume exceeds the recommended serving. Two ounces dried will look like a quarter pound cooked but have the same nutritionals, which is a good thing because you can be satisfied on half the amount. A great idea that is good for a diet.

The Italians love chickpeas (chichi beans) as do most Mediterranean countries (think hummus!!). I am not sure why it is the bean of choice but chichis and cannellinis make their way into meals almost daily. I was happy to see them in a Spanish preparation. This dish had lots of flavor and was ready in under 30 minutes.

I did slightly squish the beans but only to help remove the skins to become more digestible. Make sure you buy the best quality beans you can, if they are one of the main ingredients but if the end has them pureed (like a soup), you can get away with the generic ones. There is a huge difference in the quality of canned beans. Of course, home cooked from the dried is always the best but I would rather you eat canned then not eat any. Chickpeas can be fussy when cooked from scratch and using a pressure cooker is the best way to ensure good results consistently.

I could not find Spanish chorizo so I used Mexican which is soft, not dried, but the flavor is still there and it's OK to use either. If you can not find chorizo they recommend using pepperoni. Bet the kids will love this dish.

Try to make this right before eating as the pasta will soak up all the sauce if it sits too long. I had to add a cup of water because The Nudge was late getting home. There was still plenty of flavor.
I roasted cauliflower for a side dish but a salad would work also.

I packaged the leftovers in quart size freezer bags so that they can be a grab 'n go for lunches. I give this dish a thumbs up and not just because it's a one pot wonder.

Chickpea & Chorizo Fideos
Makes: 4 servings, about 2 cups each
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
* 1/2 package whole-wheat angel hair pasta, broken into 2" pieces (I used Dreamfields)
* 2 large cloves garlic, minced
* 1/2 cup chopped Spanish chorizo or pepperoni (about 2 ounces)
* 1 (15oz) can chickpeas, rinsed
* 3 scallions (1/2 bunch), sliced

1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pasta pieces and cook, stirring, until toasted and browned in spots, 1-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and heat over medium heat. Add garlic and chorizo (or pepperoni) and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, water, wine and the toasted pasta to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 8 minutes. Stir in chickpeas and scallions and cook 1 minute more.

Per serving: 474 calories; 18g fat (4g sat, 11g mono); 12mg cholesterol; 62g carbohydrate; 0g added sugars; 16g protein; 11g fiber; 483mg sodium;546mg potassium.
Nutritional bonus: Magnesium (29% dv), Vitamin C (25% dv), Folate & Iron (24% dv), Zinc (18% dv), Potassium (16% dv).

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