Yesterday I was determined to cook lunch at home, despite our severely limited grocery situation. We still haven’t been to the store for the big load! But we had a few things that I knew I could make use of, resulting in the first official recipe born in my new kitchen – hurrah! I present to you…
Green Bean Pasta Salad with Chickpeas
Ingredients:
- 1 pound green beans
- 2 servings pasta (I used brown rice fussili to make it gluten-free!)
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 handful fresh basil
- 1 tbsp grapeseed oil
- 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp ume plum vinegar
To Prepare:
Start by getting a big pot of water boiling on the stove. While you wait, you can trim the green beans – remove the stems on each end, and cut them in half so that they aren’t quite so long.
When the water is ready, plunge the green beans into the boiling water for about 4 minutes, or until al dente.
Then strain out using a skimmer or slotted spoon. Do NOT drain the entire pot, because you are going to reuse the boiling water!
Transfer beans to a colander and rinse with cold water (to stop them from over-cooking).
Now let your water come back to a boil.
Time to cook the pasta! I used a brown rice fusilli pasta that is gluten-free!
Cook your pasta of choice to the package directions. Meanwhile, mince a handful of fresh basil and set to the side.
While the pasta cooks, you can also go ahead and make the dressing – combine 1 tablespoon each of grapeseed oil, white balsamic vinegar, and ume plum vinegar. If you don’t have ume plum vinegar I recommend #1: that you get some ume plum vineger. And #2: that you substitute with either soy sauce or apple cider vinegar (plus extra salt). Whisk together!
Once the pasta is al dente, toss the green beans back into the boiling water to reheat, and then immediately drain the entire pot into your colander. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking!
Open a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), and rinse to remove all the excess goo and salt. If you are a superstar, you can also use dried beans that have been soaked!
Add the pasta, green beans, chickpeas, and basil to a large bowl.
Pour the entire mixture of dressing over the bowl, and then toss to combine.
The result is a delicious, protein packed gluten-free pasta salad. Delicious!
So often pasta salads are way too pasta-heavy, and the dressing are usually heavily oil or mayonnaise based. I like having something lighter and loaded up with veggies and beans as an alternative!
This dish is also totally versatile – works great as both a main dish or side salad, and tastes good eaten warm right away, or after cooling down in the refrigerator.
The first of many new recipes to come from my new kitchen! As always, enjoy. :)
32 Comments so far
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That sounds awesome! I actually have all those ingredients on hand right now – except the Ume Plum Vinegar. Must buy some!
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I am so with you…I love lots of veggies in my pasta dishes. Definitely no mayo and a little dressing, but otherwise…load up the veggies. Glad you are enjoying your new kitchen!
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Looks fantastic!! a must-try for sure :)
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This looks so yummy and fresh! I love bean salads and pasta salads – this is the best of both worlds!
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very interesting! thanks for sharing
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3 of my favorite things in 1 dish – yum! I think I’d love this combo with a marinara sauce, too. :)
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This sounds delish! We don’t have a ton of groceries either, and I’m still trying to use up the hidden cupboard treasures that I found while moving ;) I made this amazingly easy pasta sauce yesterday..it didn’t even need to be cooked! peeled whole tomatoes + olive oil + garlic powder [out of whole garlic, hehe] + s/p…whirled it in the food processor and it was SO good!! Amazing what you can do with so little!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
September 8th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
That sounds amazing! I used garlic powder last night too because we have no garlic. :)
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YUMMMMMM! I’ll definitely be trying this one. I love non-heavy pasta salads!!
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Mmm, looks great!
I’ve been seeing a lot of bloggers using grapeseed oil lately. Does it have health benefits over olive oil?
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
September 8th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
It is an unsaturated fat, very similar nutritionally to olive oil. But the taste is a bit more mild and light, which lends well to dressings and lighter food. But if you don’t have any, olive oil is a perfectly acceptable substitute.
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Welcome to our corner of the world! My husband is a commuter and we live down in Fredericksburg. Let me know if you ever need info about the area – so much to do and see – enjoy!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
September 8th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Awesome – thank you! :)
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What a great lunch!! Its always a good feeling to cook at home :)
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This looks so healthy and delicious!
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I like keeping my veggies and pasta separate (it’s a texture thing) but this looks so pretty!
I still can’t seem to find a dressing that I like for pasta salads. I keep trying different vinegars and they are always too sweet or wayyyyy too bitter.
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Yum! I love mayo-free pasta salads, and that particular type of GF pasta is delicious (I have to eat GF as well – bad joint pain otherwise) :)
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
September 8th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
I think that GF pasta is really good too – holds its bite really well.
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I’m currently at college with no access to a kitchen but that recipe looks like something I would love to eventually make.
More importantly, I love your pineapple strainer! How cute!
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The first recipe in your new kitchen looks great. I love that it is vegan-friendly. I am fairly new to your blog – although it’s been in my Google Reader forever, I had to ‘dust it off’ after reading the article in BH&G. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
September 8th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
I am so glad you found me again – welcome back! :)
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Using the same cooking water for the green beans and pasta saves time and energy (and reduces the number of pans you need)– great tip! When you’re done cooking in the boiling water, use it to rinse any other dirty dishes or pans.
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glad to see you’re cooking again :) chickpeas are always my go-to meal when im lost for space and time but still want something with nutrition!
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Hey Emily! Been lurking for a while without commenting…but it’s Gabrielle from the cinweekly marathon blog. (My new blog is linked above, fyi). Congrats on your big move. Definitely going to try this recipe – looks delicious!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
September 8th, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Omg, Gabrielle! I wondered what happened to your old blog when the posts stopped coming – so glad you sent me the new one! You look AMAZING. :)
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Gosh, that fresh basil looks awesome! You must have your own basil plant :) Great looking recipe and sounds like it tastes as good as it looks! nice job!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Thanks for the basil, mom! :)
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this looks yummy! i bet it would be perfect for a school lunch for me too.
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Yay, first DC recipe! Many thanks. It’s already made its way onto my menu list for next week. And it’s so pantry-friendly.
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Yum! That looks delicious! I love seeing recipes I can eat!!
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That sounds so good, but WHERE did you get the pineapple colander? My mom loves pineapples, and she’d probably flip out if I got her that (since we’re Italian, and we legally have to eat pasta twice a week). =)
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
It was actually Casey’s before we moved in together! But I believe they still sell them at Target. :)
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