Anyone who is familiar with my blog knows I’ve been learning how to cook for a little over a year now. I usually find a recipe and follow it as close as I feel comfortable, but occasionally I strike out on my own to see how much I’ve learned. This sauce is an example of my testing the waters, and according to Sandy, I hit a home run. She was first impressed with my bravery in adding garbanzo beans to a tomato sauce, and secondly surprised at how much flavor the garbanzos absorbed without falling apart. I served this up on top of some thick chicken drumsticks that I floured and browned, then covered it all in a casserole dish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and cooked at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

1 large onion, halved and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 14.5 ounce can organic diced tomatoes
1 15.5 ounce can garbanzo beans
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 Tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 cup heavy cream
Splash of red wine
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

In a large skillet on medium/low heat, add oil and cook onions until slightly tender. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds before adding tomatoes, garbanzo beans, salt and pepper, paprika and heavy cream. Cook on a high simmer until it bubbles for 20 minutes or until reduced by 1/3.

As I said, I put this on top of chicken drumsticks, but it would be great by itself served with a loaf of crunchy bread.