Everyone will love this vegetarian twist on rapini and sausage pasta. This rapini pasta made with rapini (broccoli rabe), canned chickpeas, onions and garlic. It comes together in 25 minutes, making it perfect for a weeknight dinner.
In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 3-5 minutes until they become translucent. Add garlic and chili flakes, season with ¼ teaspoon of salt. Continue cooking for another minute until the garlic becomes fragrant and sizzles.
Add chickpeas to the pan, followed by the remaining salt. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld together.
In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. During the last two minutes of cooking, add the chopped rapini to the boiling water. Before draining the pasta, make sure to reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water.
Add the drained cooked pasta and rapini to the saute pan. Pour in the reserved pasta water and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and lemon juice. Toss everything together until the pasta is evenly coated. The sauce should have a slightly velvety and shiny texture.
Serve the dish with an extra sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top.
Notes
You can replace the rapini or broccoli rabe with regular broccoli or kale.
Add more chili flakes if you want something a little spicier.
You can add sausage. Simply add it at the same time as the onions and crumbled it as it cooks through.
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