Creamy Harissa Cottage Cheese Pasta with Chickpeas
By Recipes Worth Cooking Test Kitchen

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Cuisine: North African-inspired

Description:
A high-protein harissa cottage cheese pasta with crispy chickpeas, spinach, lemon, parsley, and Parmesan.

Ingredients:
- 12.00 Ounce short pasta
- 1.25 Cup cottage cheese
- 1.00 Can chickpeas
- 2.00 Tablespoon harissa paste
- 4.00 Cup baby spinach
- 0.50 Cup Parmesan cheese
- 1.00 Teaspoon lemon zest
- 1.00 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 2.00 Tablespoon olive oil
- 0.25 Cup parsley

Instructions:
<ol><li>Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente, reserving 1 cup pasta water.</li><li>Pat chickpeas dry and cook them in olive oil for 8 to 10 minutes, until crisp at the edges.</li><li>Blend cottage cheese, harissa, lemon juice, 1/4 cup pasta water, and Parmesan until smooth.</li><li>Add spinach to the hot pasta pot and let it wilt for 30 seconds.</li><li>Off the heat, toss pasta and spinach with the harissa cottage cheese sauce.</li><li>Loosen with more pasta water until glossy.</li><li>Top with crispy chickpeas, lemon zest, parsley, and black pepper.</li></ol>

Notes:
<ul><li>Blend the sauce fully before it touches the hot pasta.</li><li>Keep the pan off the heat when adding the sauce to prevent graininess.</li><li>Harissa varies by brand, so start with less if yours is very spicy.</li></ul>

Source: https://recipesworthcooking.com/creamy-harissa-cottage-cheese-pasta-chickpeas/export/