Chickpea & spinach pasta

Sounds ordinary, tastes fantastic. Meat-eaters love it. Really, I promise. It's also the best meal I know that can be made without many fresh ingredients and will still impress your friends. This recipe is adapted from Sarah Freeman's.

INGREDIENTS

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• Salt and pepper
• 250g frozen spinach
• 300g tin chick peas
• 500g dry spiral pasta
• Grated cheese (something milder than Parmesan) to serve if desired.

DIRECTIONS

Finely chop the onion and fry in the oil on a low heat for 10 minutes or until soft (not brown). Add crushed garlic and fry another two minutes. Stir in cumin and coriander and fry a further 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, a little salt and a bit more pepper and simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce is thick, stirring occasionally. While the tomatoes are simmering, cook the spinach according to the directions on the packet, leave to cool slightly and then chop fairly finely. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Cook pasta according to directions on packet and drain. Add chickpeas to tomato sauce and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Add chopped spinach at the end. Stir pasta through sauce and serve.

SERVES 6