Pasta with Chick Peas and Onion

Tuesday we made a run for the Spanish border.  The supermarkets down there offer us a few particular goodies that we cannot now live without, most notably their black pudding.  It is one of the best we’ve ever tasted.  While there (with our friends) we tend to stop for lunch so dinner at home later ends up a light affair and this pasta dish is both fast and light without sacrificing flavour.   John’s mother takes credit for this recipe.

Thinly slice a large onion and fry gently in a generous amount of olive oil with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar for about 10 min.  We start it off covered and let it sweat for the first five minutes.  This process softens and flavours the onion to new heights.  It should start catching a little and go brown.  That’s ok.  In fact, it’s a virtue.  Just stir it regularly.  Put your pasta on to boil.   Tip a tin of drained chick peas into the frying onions as well as a few tbsp of the boiling pasta water.  Once the sauce hits the simmer again it should be ready.  Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce.  Simplicity at it’s best.