Persian Pasta

It is said that need is the mother of inventions, but sometimes opportunity can be the inspiration of a fabulous product. I offer the story of Keiller’s Dundee Marmalade as an example. But I am getting off the track already.

For the past few weeks every time I rummaged in the dry goods cabinet, where we store rice, quinoa, barley and a colorful assortment of beans, a bag of garbanzo beans, chickpeas to some, got in the way of my searches. It has been there seemingly forever. I have no idea why I ever bought it.

Now there is a very practical reason why this bag of treasure stayed around. Using garbanzo beans requires planning. They need an overnight soak before cooking. Then they are simmered for an hour and a half to two hours. The “quick way” on the bag label instructs to boil them for a few minutes and the let them steep an hour before the final boil. This still is a three-hour chore.
I was looking for the pasta, my family had requested spaghetti for dinner, when I came across that bean bag again. For once I had plenty of time and that proverbial light bulb came on.

The name for my unique culinary treat came much later, halfway through dinner, as courtesy from my family. My working idea was to add the garbanzo beans to my marinara sauce and serve it over spaghetti.

All proceeded as planned and I served small samples of my “chickpeas enrobed in house marinara sauce over spaghetti”.

Well, there was no standing ovation. Besides the name “Persian Pasta” all I got from my family was “an interesting meal”. The word “interesting” is their way of complimenting me when praise is absolutely out of the question. There was no request to document the recipe for future use. Ah, well, I tried.

First published in Our Arts Magazine on August 29, 2017