PASTA WITH GARBANZO BEANS

Pasta with Garbanzo Beans image

Yield Makes 4 first-course servings

Number Of Ingredients 12

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
3 1/4 cups (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed, drained
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/2 cup uncooked small elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Steps:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic and bay leaf; sauté until onion is golden and tender, about 7 minutes. Add 3 1/4 cups broth, garbanzo beans, tomato paste and crushed red pepper. Bring to boil. Add macaroni; reduce heat to medium and boil gently until macaroni is very tender, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry, about 15 minutes (mixture will be thick but some broth should remain). Season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf. Stir in parsley and 1 tablespoon oil.
Ladle pasta mixture into 4 bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese.