Preheat oven to 180ºC . Cook pasta al dente, drain. Saute onion garlic, crushed red pepper, herbs, paprika, and saffron (if desired). Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently until onions are soft about 8 min. Add chickpeas, half cup of their liquid and tomatoes. Season with pepper. Lower heat and simmer 15 min. If pan becomes dry, add a little water to keep it moist. Steam chard until bright green and tender. Remove, chop coarsely, season with pepper and if desired salt. Put pasta in casserole, add chickpea-tomato mixture, chard and cheese. Toss until well mixed. Cover with foil and bake until warmed through, about 20 min. Serve with additional grated cheese if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings (I find it to be more). Here in Fl. it's hard to find chard, so I usually use fresh or frozen spinach. Kale would work just as well. You can also prepare this ahead of time, then pop into oven and heat for 20 min. The nutritional info. below will not be accurate because I eliminated the oil and real cheese. Per serving: 595 cal; 24g protein; 18g fat; 82g carbo.; 8mg cholest.; 589mg sodium; 17g fiber.