Lemony Pasta With Chickpeas and Parsley Recipe (2024)

I found this a bit bland until I doubled the amount of lemon zest and then added the juice of the entire lemon and a bit of freshly ground salt. That brightened it up considerably. Get your prep done before you cook the pasta, and it all comes together very nicely.

Melissa, don't throw out the pasta water!!! That should be the liquid that thins out the chickpea mash if you are using canned chickpeas, which is what most people who want a "quick cooking dinner" will use.

I make this recipe all the time, with the added difference of adding an anchovy when sautéing the onions. It is delicious, wonderful and one of my favourite "comfort foods".

Delicious! I made this last night, as written + two cans of excellent tuna, fresh tomatoes and fresh arugula.
If you do those additions (I personally loved them) I'd recommend adding in some olives as well...

8 ounces of pasta for 4 people? you must not eat much. we are a family of four and we all get a lot of exercise, and I can barely make a pound of pasta last as dinner for 4, even with a salad on the side . . .

I've made chickpea pastas in the past that I've found meh (pasta con ceci), but this one was fantastic. The lemon zest really zips it up, and mashing the chickpeas makes the texture more complex. Next time I plan to throw some capers into the pan along with the garlic and onion (I used spring Vidalias).

Could you redo your last sentence. Spell check/voice recognition messed up whatever you meant to say (or maybe you really did finish cooking this at LaGuardia)

To make this dish "heart healthy" and vegan take out the cheese butter and oil. Substitute ground cashews nutritional yeast and a small amount of garlic salt all mixed together in place of the cheese

I love ceci so I thought this was completely delicious, and came together quickly. I removed the garlic cloves from the pan when the onions went in -- actually I used a shallot which was nice, and I also kept some of the pasta cooking water to thin out the sauce if necessary. Great dish, thank you.

Excellent, but at over 1000 calories per serving not a meal I'll be indulging in too often.

Terrific. Only change I'll make for next time is not to stir in the parmesan. I like cheese as much as the next guy, but I felt it made the dish gummy (maybe because I used shredded rather than grated), and somehow it took away from the brightness/freshness of the lemon and parsley. Will just serve the cheese at the table for sprinkling. Oh, and as others have said, a generous squirt of lemon juice at the end does wonders.

This was outstanding. I followed other's advice to double the amount of lemon zest and then add a big squirt of lemon juice at the end. My French, omnivore husband agreed that it is fantastic. By the way, I forgot to buy fresh parsley so I used another commenter's advice to add about 3/4 tablespoon of dried parsley plus 3/4 tablespoon of dried rosemary. If you do so, go easy on the salt as the herbs and lemon give a lot of flavor.

I found this a bit flat. If I make it again, I'll add anchovy to the sweating onion and a good squeeze of lemon juice to the finished dish.

Lacking chickpeas, I made this soul filling meal using white beans, (I used Alubia Blanca but most kinds would work) which I cooked from dry and broke down into a creamy delight without mashing. Also I added several handfuls of baby spinach at the end for a one pot meal (not counting the pasta) Added zest and juice of one lemon and an extra pinch of red pepper flakes.

rosemary muddles the simple tastes, so I omit that. Double lemon. Easy and good. Pair with a side salad and a cute date, and you've got a nice lil dinner

Very good! I doubled the entire recipe (except for parsley - only used 3 cups), used the juice from the lemon, and added anchovy paste when sautéing the onions. Will make again.

Good. Two onions with 8 anchovy cooked down per Hazan recipe with several dashes wine and or water while pasta water cooking. Up ratio of fixings vs pasta. 250 g max

Agree no cheese in sauce, just on top. Brothy good. Cook onion a la hazan with anchovy shots of wine and water to really soften. Over time water comes to boil is enough time. No more than 250 g pasta. Beans work as well as chickpea. Don’t overmash.

Rather spectacular. Like other users, I made a few mods to the recipe as well. Zest of a whole lemon and about 3/4 of the juice. I crushed and chopped 4 large garlic cloves (about 15 g each), hey we like garlic. I cut back the salt- lightly salted the water and a few light grinds on completion. I then added about a dozen pre-cooked large prawns and three large scallops cut into smaller chunks. Served with a seasonal salad, a full meal with generous leftovers for my wife's lunches.

Delicious and easy to put together quickly. I felt it needed a bit more spice so added Calabrian chili powder along with the chili flakes. I also included the juice of the lemon along with the zest. Wonderful!

i used the pasta water as the liquid as others suggested. next time i would double the garlic rosemary and lemon as it was a bit too subtle. it seemed really soupy at first but the pasta and beans absorb the water quickly. good dish!

I used the pasta water as suggested and next time would double the lemon, rosemary and maybe garlic as all were subtle. seemed like too much liquid but the beans and pasta gobbled it up quickly. it was very stiff as leftovers and needed even more liquid. much better the first day

I really like this recipe and make it regularly. But if any of the NYT food writers see this, I'd deeply appreciate if you'd start listing the grated cheese in weight and not volume. 3/4C grated cheese is simply not enough. If you'd specify that weight of the pre-grated cheese it would simplify the process. Thank you.

Delicious! I had arugula not parsley, and it worked great as a substitute with no changes to the rest of the recipe.

We added all the things- capers, anchovy paste, more lemon. It was good but a bit dry. Maybe needs a separate sauce to add just before serving?

I put paprika, chili flakes, chili powder, and a bit of lemon juice. Game changer. I also used my pasta water to cook the chickpeas.

Loved this recipe! The only modification I made was to throw in a few handfuls of arugula which made it even more beautiful!

- Use a whole onion instead of half- Double the rosemary- Add the juice from the lemon you zested with the Parmesan- Add 1 tsp of sodium citrate with the parmesan (it’s an emulsifier, worth the $5 to buy a bag of it, add it to anything with melted cheese).- Sub 1/2 of the cooking liquid for dry white wine