Chickpea Cassoulet with Tomatoes and Chard
12 ounces spaghetti
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pinches red pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme (1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
pinch saffron threads, optional
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, liquid reserved
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 bunch chard, leaves only
salt, to taste
1/2 cup grated vegan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook pasta according to package directions, al dente, and drain. Saute onion, garlic, crushed red pepper, herbs, paprika, and saffron (if desired). Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently until onions are soft, about 8 minutes.
2. Add chickpeas, 1/2 cup of their liquid, and tomatoes. Season with pepper. Lower heat and simmer 15 minutes. If pan becomes dry, add a little water to keep it moist.
3. Steam chard until bright green and tender. Remove, chop coarsely, season with pepper and if desired, salt. Put pasta in casserole dish, add chickpea-tomato mixture, chard, and cheese. Toss until well mixed.
4. Cover with foil and bake until warmed through, about 20 minutes. Serve with additional grated cheese if desired.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I like the idea of this (and the ingredients that went into it), but why did it need to be baked? I think it would have sufficed to follow the instructions up to the baking part and just tossed the various parts together. I thought it would be more like a casserole, but really it was just spaghetti with a very light tomato sauce with chickpeas and chard.
I think next time I make it, I will bump up the spices and the tomatoes (or tomato sauce) and just serve it as spaghetti.
this was good but not amazing.. easy & healthy enough. i added some diced baby bellas and left out the cheeze.. instead used some ny mixed in and sprinkled on top.
This was awesome. I made it with LOTS of black pepper, paprika, and garlic, 'cause that's how I cook. My boyfriend and I had heaping plates for dinner, then had it again a few hours later for a late night snack, then finished it this morning for breakfast. It was that good! But now I feel a little sick. It's pretty heavy- next time I think I will use nutritional yeast instead of the soy cheese, since piggies like us should at least TRY to limit our calorie intake. Thanks!
I brought some kale home from the farmers market where I work and used it in place of chard. It was beautiful red kale and worked perfectly in this dish. Its even better reheated the next day!
Flamekat - I got a recipe from fatfreevegan for portabello mushroom and butterbean cassoulet which may be more akin to your french b/f's idea - yes, haricot beans and duck fat are traditional and I believe the french cook it for hours - Post on the Q&A if you would like this version - K
I saw this recipe today and as I had chard on hand, I cooked it up to the pasta step. I don't have my oven working so I omitted the pasta part, and just added the garbanzos and stuff to the saucepan. Cheese on top after. It was good...someday when I can, I'll try the full, baked version but this is good enough to go on with! ;)
Thanks for this recipe, I was in a real rut and it got my creative juices flowing again.
I saw this recipe on another website last year and made it for my boyfriend, who is French. It actually took a lot of work to convince him to have this for dinner because of the name! He has his idea of cassoulet as being made with haricot beans and duck fat. ::) (Look it up on Wikipedia if you're curious.) I've never had cassoulet before, and just thought the recipe itself sounded nice, so I made it for him anyway, substituting kale for chard, and omitting the pasta. (He adamantly refused to eat a "cassoulet" containing pasta.) Anyway, it came out very nice. Actually delicious, and the bf liked it, too. He just decided that we will no longer call it cassoulett, and we're trying to make a vegan version of the French traditional.