This is a pasta salad inspired by the flavors of my go-to falafel recipe. Falafel is a traditional Middle Eastern chickpea or fava bean fritter that I’ve loved since childhood. When I make mine, I load up on fresh mint, parsley and cilantro, as well as coriander and a little bit of cinnamon. So with this recipe, I took all of my favorite falafel ingredients and tossed them with pasta. And I had to use farfalle because…c’mon, Falafel-y Farfalle is so much fun to say!
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- One 14-ounce can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
- 8 ounces farfalle pasta (bow-tie), cooked according to package directions
- 2 Persian cucumbers, diced
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 bunch fresh mint, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
- 6 ounces crumbled feta
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the chickpeas and cook, tossing occasionally, until browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin and cinnamon and cook for another minute so the spices can toast. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil, lemon zest and juice, garlic, a good pinch of salt and a few turns of pepper and whisk vigorously until emulsified. Add the cooked pasta, cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, most of the cilantro, mint and parsley and most of the feta and fold together. Taste and adjust the seasoning, as desired. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the chickpeas, remaining feta and remaining herbs and enjoy!
- This can be made a day in advance. It’s great at room temperature, too.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 435 |
| Total Fat | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 51 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Sugar | 7 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Cholesterol | 25 mg |
| Sodium | 586 mg |
Reviews
This was amazing!!!! My husband thought it was the best pasta salad I’ve ever made. I can’t eat cucumbers so I left them out and it was still fantastic!
Yum! Whole family liked it. Put the red onion in the pan with chickpeas and used ginger instead of coriander since I didn’t have it. Easy and tasty.
Delicious and simple to make!
I just made this recipe and it was so delicious and amazing with all of the flavors and textures! I think next time I will add sundried tomatoes too! Love it!
Refreshing, delicious, healthy and easy. Great recipe
So so good and different! I will make this one over and over and over! I love it!
So good!!!!!!
Excellent hot or cold!! This will be added to my rotation! Loved it!
This was refreshing and bright. Kids even ate it! Delicious!!
This was delicious! The chickpeas were so flavorful and unique!