Vegetarian Chickpea Rotini with Roasted Tomatoes & Garlic

This was a quick week night meal.  I did grate some fresh Parmesan cheese on it so it took my dish from vegan to vegetarian.  I was surprised how good this pasta was the first time I made it.  I found it at Costco.

What I used to whip this up:

• 2 pints of mixed cherry tomatoes
• Fresh stalks of thyme
• 1/2 cup of fresh basil, oregano and Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper chili flakes
• 1 package of chickpea rotini (228 grams)
• Freshly cracked pepper and kosher salt, to taste
• 1/4 cup of organic extra-virgin olive oil
• Half cup of Parmesan cheese, finely grated

I preheated my oven to 400°F.  I got a baking sheet and lined it with parchment paper.  I laid the tomatoes, garlic, chili flakes on it.  I drizzled some olive oil and seasoned with S&P.  I threw in a couple of sprigs of thyme.

When tossed well, I put it into the oven until the tomatoes were blistered open.  I also hoped to see some charring on them.  For my oven, this took a half hour.  I removed the thyme stems when I took them out.

I boiled the pasta in salted water to package directions which was 7 - 9 minutes.

I chopped the herbs and grated the cheese.  I drained the rotini.  I added the tomatoes and a swirl of olive oil to the pasta.  I stirred until combined and then added in the fresh herbs.  I seasoned again with S&P and plated.  I topped with the cheese and few more fresh herbs.

This dinner came together in about an hour and was lovely.  I loved the garlicky flavor and the herbs made it special.  It felt like cheat day, but it was nice to know that it wasn't.