Chickpea Noodle Casserole (like tuna...only not)

My pal posted a recipe for a mock tuna casserole yesterday, and I was instantly intrigued. As I read the recipe, I thought, "Chickpeas. Pasta. Peas. How could it possibly be bad?" To tell the truth, it really is quite delicious. I didn't follow the original recipe exactly, but I used it as a starting point because I can never bring myself to exactly follow any recipe...ever. It's a weakness. Or a strength. I'm not really sure which yet! 

I really really liked this casserole! I'm typically not the biggest fan of casseroles as many tend to have no texture whatsoever, but this one did from the chickpeas and even from the peas. Really, it's great. You can add other veggies, but I stuck to peas as my add-in because I LOVE PEAS. And if you don't, well, that's just sad. I found some generic pasta that somewhat resembles the old egg-noodles most of us grew up on. You really could use any pasta you want. 


This makes about 5-6 big servings.


Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb pasta of your choice
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas, pulsed a few times in your food processor, DO NOT PUREE
• 6oz fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup diced onion 
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 3 TB olive oil
• 3 1/2 TB flour
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 cup veggie broth
• 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 3-4 TB nutritional yeast
• 1 TB garlic salt
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• salt and pepper to your tastes
• 1/2 tsp coriander

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cook your pasta according to package directions. Then drain and set aside. While pasta is cooking, start on step 3 below.
3. Heat 1 TB oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add onions, and saute for 5 minutes, or until softened. Then add the fresh garlic. 
4. Whisk some flour into the garlic onion mixture, and add 1 TB oil. It'll be really thick. Now, whisk in the milk and broth. Keep whisking until the sauce thickens somewhat. 
5. Lower the burner to medium-low heat. Now add in the chickpeas, coriander, nutritional yeast, onion powder, mushrooms, and garlic salt. You will want to keep whisking so nothing burns to the bottom of the pan., but continues to thicken somewhat. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.
6. Fold in the peas and the pasta and cook another minute or three.
7. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish. 
8. In a small bowl, combine the last 1 TB of oil with the breadcrumbs. I added some salt and pepper to the bread crumbs because I pretty much always do. Now, mix well and spoon over the casserole, covering the entire surface if you can.
   
   
   
9. Cook on the middle rack for 20-30 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs get toasted and the sauce is bubbling. Mine took exactly 25 minutes. This is what it should look like:
   
   
   

There you have it! Super tasty and really filling. And, the sauce is delicious. Tuck in, dude.