Chickpea Fusilli in Hemp Tahini Sauce

I was excited to find this pasta made out of pure chickpeas, that’s rich in protein and has 0 sugar and minimum carbohydrates. Since I am trying to be on a low carbohydrate diet and yet crave for pasta, this suited my palate so well that I decided to come up with unique yet delicious pasta recipe.

I wanted to experiment the combination of hemp seeds and tahini for a pasta sauce, instead of regular tomato sauce or pesto sauce, since I like to explore varied flavors and love when they turn out to be unique. This combination definitely became one of my favorites after making this delicious 20 minutes entrée.

For the sauce, as I like everything quick, I blended hemp seeds (super food with high nutritional value), tahini (protein rich), and seasonings for flavoring, in a blender. Voila!!! I was pretty impressed with the outcome. Now comes the next step……

Heated little olive oil in a nonstick pan, added some vegetables and specifically focused on shelled edamame because I love them and are extremely nutritious, tossed in chickpea pasta and cooked for a minute. Lastly, I folded in the hemp tahini sauce and immediately tuned off the flame.

The aroma was making me hungry and it was super difficult to keep my hands off from picking pasta directly from the pan….but I survived 🙂

I served this Chickpea Fusilli in Hemp Tahini Sauce to my family on the dinner table. The delight and satisfaction that I saw on their faces encouraged me to share this recipe here.

It’s a great Labor Day recipe or for any potluck event or a wonderful week night dinner. It’s versatile, super easy and takes only about 20 minutes to cook and less than 5 minutes to satisfy the bellies 🙂

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Chickpea Fusilli in Hemp Tahini Sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Serves 3

Per Serving 434 calories

Fat 15 g

Carbs 61 g

Protein 16 g

3

Ingredients

for the sauce

• ¼ cup hemp seeds
• 1 tbsp. tahini
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp vinegar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp dried garlic
• ½ cup water

for the pasta

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• ½ cup scallions
• ½ cup red bell pepper (thinly sliced)
• ½ cup shelled edamame
• 2 cups chickpea fusilli (boiled and drained)

Instructions

1. In a blender combine all the ingredients for the sauce and blend smooth. Keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a nonstick pan and add scallions, red bell pepper and edamame.
3. Saute for couple of minutes and toss in pasta.
4. Cook for 1 minute and fold in the hemp tahini sauce.
5. Mix very well and serve warm.

Notes

Hemp tahini sauce can be made ahead of time and refrigerated in a glass container for 2-3 days and used as needed.

Any pasta of your choice can be used.

If you don’t have tahini at home, you can add 1 tbsp. white sesame seeds and 1 tsp olive/sesame oil along with other sauce ingredients and blend smooth.