Hidden health: Easy recipes to eat more fibre in every meal

A high fibre diet may help to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer

Fibre-rich foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert

Wholewheat pasta, chickpeas, lentils, chia seeds and pears are bursting with fibre. Here’s how to incorporate those high-fibre foods into your diet.

Tagliatelle with chickpeas

Fabulously rich, bursting with fresh, vibrant tomatoes and covered in a smooth chickpea purée as well as whole chickpeas, this is an easy yet nutritious meal

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Imported

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• ½ medium yellow onion

• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for drizzling at the end

• 1 medium clove garlic

• 1–2 sprigs fresh rosemary

• 450g fresh tomatoes

• salt

• 255g canned chickpeas, drained

• freshly ground black pepper

• 280g dried egg tagliatelle

Method

1. Fill a pot for the pasta with about six quarts of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Peel the onion and finely chop it. Put it and the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet and place over medium-high heat. Sauté until the onion turns a rich golden colour, about five minutes.

2. While the onion is sautéing, peel the garlic and finely chop it. Finely chop enough rosemary to measure one teaspoon. Peel the tomatoes and coarsely chop them. When the onion is ready, add the garlic and rosemary. Sauté for 10 to 15 seconds, then add the tomatoes. Season lightly with salt and cook until most of the liquid the tomatoes release has evaporated (about 10 minutes).

3. Add the chickpeas, season with pepper (and again lightly with salt), and cook for five more minutes. Scoop out about half the chickpeas and puree them. A food mill will produce a smoother texture, but if you don’t have one you can use a food processor. Mix the pureed chickpeas into the sauce and cook for another one to two minutes.

4. Once the pureed chickpeas are back in the pan, add about two tablespoons of salt to the boiling pasta water, add the tagliatelle, and stir until all the strands are submerged. Cook until al dente. After the pasta has cooked about two minutes, mix two tablespoons of the pasta water into the sauce. When the pasta is done, drain well and toss with the sauce. Drizzle a little olive oil and grind some black pepper over each portion, and serve at once.
   This recipe is from Giuliano Hazan’s Thirty Minute Pasta, published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang