Paprika-roasted chickpeas and blistered tomatoes over nutty brown chana penne, with a lemon-tahini drizzle and plenty of parsley.
Ingredients
From the TrooFoodz pantry
- Sprouted Brown Channa Penne 1 pack (180 g)
Fresh
- Cooked chickpeas, drained and patted dry 2 cups
- Cherry tomatoes 250 g
- Red onion, cut into wedges 1
- Smoked paprika 1½ tsp
- Ground cumin 1 tsp
- Tahini 3 tbsp
- Lemons, juiced 2
- Garlic, crushed 2 cloves
- Extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp
- Flat-leaf parsley, chopped 1 bunch
- Rocket or baby spinach 2 handfuls
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Method
-
Season the chickpeas
Toss the dried chickpeas with two tablespoons of olive oil, the smoked paprika, cumin and salt until every one is coated a rusty orange.
-
Roast hard
Spread them on a hot tray with the tomatoes and onion wedges and roast at 220°C for twenty minutes, shaking once, until the chickpeas crackle and the tomatoes split.
-
Whip the tahini
Whisk the tahini with the juice of one lemon and the crushed garlic. It will seize and go pale — keep adding cold water a spoon at a time until it flows again.
-
Boil the penne
Cook the Sprouted Brown Channa Penne in salted water for up to seven minutes until al dente, then drain and toss with a little olive oil.
-
Dress the pasta
While still warm, fold the penne with the remaining lemon juice, olive oil and half the parsley so it drinks in the acid.
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Layer the bowl
Spoon the pasta over the leaves, tip the roasted chickpeas and tomatoes on top with all their tray juices, keeping the components visibly distinct.
-
Drizzle and finish
Zigzag the tahini sauce over everything, scatter the rest of the parsley and grind over black pepper.
Why this works
Brown chana penne is legume-based, so it echoes the roasted chickpeas rather than sitting apart from them — the bowl reads as one idea, not two. Drying the chickpeas properly before oiling is the difference between a crisp shell and a steamed one. Tahini splits when acid hits it, then re-emulsifies with water, which is why the sauce goes through an ugly stage before turning silky.
Make it your own
- Sprouted Brown Channa Penne → Sprouted Moth Beans Fusilli Earthier spiral; the twist catches the tahini well.
- Tahini → Unsweetened peanut butter thinned with lemon Sweeter and heavier; sharpen with extra juice.
- Smoked paprika → Kashmiri chilli powder with a pinch of cumin Same colour, less smoke.
