Meatless meals for Lent, try chickpeas for a change

Meatless recipes for Lent can and should extend past fish. Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are low in fat, full of calcium and fiber, as well as easy to prepare.

During Lent, Catholics are asked to abstain from meat on Fridays throughout the forty-day Lenten season. A couple of quick meals with a chickpea dish at the center can work to swap up the usual fare.

Chickpeas and noodles

Ingredients:

One 15 1/2 oz. can of chickpeas
Two tablespoons of olive oil
One large clove of garlic minced
Italian parsley finely chopped
Two 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce of any brand. Hunts or Del Monte will do.
3/4 lb.of flat noodles or pasta variety of your choice.

Directions

Pour olive oil in a medium size sauce pot. Lightly brown the minced garlic in the oil and add the tomato sauce. Simmer over low heat for a few minutes, stirring the mixture. After rinsing, add chickpeas slowly and turn up heat to medium. Cover the pot and when things begin to bubble, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Separately cook the noodles/pasta in lightly salted boiling water until al dente. Check cook times on pasta package. Drain pasta and place in serving dish. Add the chickpea and tomato sauce mixture and stir until full integrated. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top.

Chana Masala recipe care of: Bon Appetit Magazine

Ingredients:

1 chopped onion,
1 sliced garlic clove,
2 tablespoons chopped peeled ginger
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon curry powder

Directions

Saute' all ingredients in the oil until onion is soft, 8-10 minutes. Add one 28-ounce can peeled whole tomatoes with their juices (crushed) and one 15-ounce can chickpeas (rinsed) and simmer until soft, 25-30 minutes; season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve with rice and chopped cilantro. Recipe at bonappetit.com, here.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/National Cancer Institute/Bill Branson

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