Marry Me Chickpeas and Orzo

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 shallot, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3 cups vegetable broth

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta

1/2 cup drained sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 large handfuls fresh baby spinach

1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup roughly-chopped fresh basil leaves

fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Directions

Sauté the aromatics

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallot, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Simmer

Add the chickpeas, vegetable broth, orzo, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low, or whatever temperature is needed to maintain a low simmer. Then continue simmering, stirring frequently, until the orzo is just shy of al dente.

Add the remaining ingredients

Add heavy cream, spinach, Parmesan, basil and stir to combine. Continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the spinach is wilted and the orzo is al dente.

Season

Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.

Serve. Serve warm, garnished with an additional twist of black pepper, and enjoy!