Tomato — Chickpea Pasta with Goat Cheese — From the Kitchen That Started It All

I hit a milestone this week and I am going to write about it even though it is not a recipe: my hamburger casserole post from last summer has been viewed ten thousand times. Ten thousand people have looked at my recipe for ground beef mixed with egg noodles and canned tomato soup. Ten thousand. I do not understand the internet and I do not pretend to, but I know that ten thousand people thought about feeding their families the same way I think about feeding mine, and that connection matters, even if it is just a casserole.

The post got shared on some trucker forums, which makes sense because truckers have families too and truckers understand the specific exhaustion of coming home after days on the road and needing to put food on the table. One commenter said she is a female trucker in Texas and she has been cooking in her cab for twenty years and she never thought anyone else did it. That hit me. The loneliness of thinking you are the only one. The relief of finding out you are not.

I celebrated the milestone the way I celebrate everything: by cooking. I made the hamburger casserole again, the one that started it all, and I took a photo and posted it with a note that said thank you to everyone who has read this, who has cooked this, who has fed their people with this simple ugly delicious casserole. It is not fancy. It is not pretty. But it is fed, and fed is what matters.

In other news, Dave built the raised garden bed. It is four feet by eight feet, made from cedar boards, and it sits in the backyard next to the clothesline. Josie has been staring at it like it is a swimming pool. Tyler helped Dave build it and came inside with sawdust in his hair and a satisfied expression. We will plant in May when the frost danger passes, which in Nebraska is approximately May 15, which is late by most standards and exactly right by ours.

I started seedlings on the windowsill: tomatoes, peppers, and basil. The dill is already growing in its pot. The kitchen smells like soil and possibility, which is a good smell for March, a month that has not yet decided what it wants to be but is leaning toward spring, and I am leaning with it.

The casserole that got ten thousand views will always be the one that started this, but celebrations deserve something a little new, and when I looked at the tomato seedlings on my windowsill and thought about what felt right to cook next, this tomato and chickpea pasta came to mind immediately — it has that same simple, unfussy spirit as the dish that connected me to a female trucker in Texas and thousands of other people just trying to feed their families. It is not the original, but it is made from the same impulse: good ingredients, one pot, people at the table who are glad you cooked.

Tomato & Chickpea Pasta with Goat Cheese

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 12 oz penne or rigatoni pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1/4 cup reserved pasta water

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Before draining, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water, then drain and set pasta aside.
2. Build the sauce base. While pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute until fragrant — do not let the garlic brown.
3. Add tomatoes and chickpeas. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and stir in the chickpeas, oregano, and sugar. Season with salt and black pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly.
4. Combine pasta and sauce. Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss to coat. Add reserved pasta water a splash at a time if the sauce feels too thick. Cook together for 1 to 2 minutes so the pasta absorbs some of the sauce.
5. Finish and serve. Divide among bowls or plates. Top each serving generously with crumbled goat cheese and torn fresh basil. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 490 | Protein: 21g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 70g | Fiber: 10g | Sodium: 590mg