Pasta with Mushroom Garbanzo ‘Ragout’

Pasta with Mushroom Garbanzo ‘Ragout’. . . otherwise known as ‘clean out the pantry’ night. (notice the three distinct pasta shapes in the photo)!

I sauteed some chopped onion in olive oil in a cast iron skillet. After the onion began to wilt I added a can of garbanzo beans (rinsed and very well drained) and let both the onions and garbanzos cook until they began to brown. I then added a bunch (like maybe a pound) of chopped Crimini mushrooms and seasoned the mixture with salt, pepper and oregano. After the mushrooms had cooked down and released their liquid I added about a tablespoon of capers and let the whole thing cook for a bit. Just before I was ready to serve it up I added a few knobs of butter, let those melt in, and then added a splash of aged balsamic vinegar. I served the ‘ragout’ (not really a ragout, but reminiscent) over pasta, then topped with Parmesan cheese.

I seem to have lost my camera – if its not where I hope it is then its really gone. Sorry for the blurry cellphone photo!

This dish was born out of necessity – what do I have on hand to make into dinner tonight, and what do I need to use up from the fridge. Despite that, it turned out great and I’m sure I’ll add it to my repertoire.