Ingredients
Chickpeas
- 300 gdried chickpeas
- 1 tspbicarbonate of soda, for soaking
- 1 sprigrosemary
- 1 clovegarlic
- 1bay leaf
Base
- 4 tbspolive oil
- 1onion, finely chopped
- 2 stickscelery, finely chopped
- 3 clovesgarlic
- 2 tbsptomato purée
- 1 sprigrosemary
- 1dried chilli, optional
Pasta
- 200 gshort pasta: ditalini, tubetti or broken tagliatelle
To finish
- salt
- black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- grated Parmesan or pecorino, optional
Directions
- Soak the chickpeas overnight with the bicarbonate of soda. Drain and rinse them, then cook them in fresh water with the rosemary sprig, garlic clove and bay for an hour to an hour and a half.
- Cook them until genuinely soft, past the point of merely tender, because half of them are going to be blended.
- Salt them only in the last fifteen minutes, because salt added early toughens the skins. Keep all the cooking water, which is the base of the soup. Never throw the chickpea water away. Heat the olive oil and cook the onion and celery slowly for 12 minutes until soft and sweet.
- Add the garlic, rosemary and chilli and cook 1 minute, then stir in the tomato purée and fry it 2 minutes. Frying the tomato purée rather than just stirring it in takes away its raw metallic edge. Add the blended chickpeas, the whole chickpeas and enough of their cooking water to make a loose soup.
- Simmer 15 minutes to let everything come together. The cost is that leftovers keep swelling and the soup turns to porridge by the next day. Stir it often once the pasta goes in, because it catches on the base as the soup thickens.
- Cook until the pasta is done and the soup has thickened to the point where a spoon almost stands up in it. It should be thick rather than brothy, which is what separates it from a chickpea soup with pasta in it.
- Season well with salt and plenty of black pepper. Rest it off the heat 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm rather than scalding, with a hard pour of good olive oil over each bowl.
Technique
- It thickens enormously overnight and needs a good deal of water when reheated.
- Tinned chickpeas work and cut the time to twenty minutes, though the cooking water is the loss.
- Rosemary is the fixed herb and it goes in twice, once with the chickpeas and once in the base.
Substitutions
- Two tins of chickpeas, drained, with vegetable stock in place of the cooking water.
- Any small pasta, or spaghetti broken into short lengths.
Variations
- With anchovy melted into the base, which is the Roman version.
- With a strip of pork rind or pancetta.
- Blended entirely smooth, as a chickpea soup.
History
A meatless Friday dish of central Italy and San Marino, built on stored dry legumes.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pasta e ceci?
Pasta e ceci is a soup & stew from San Marino: thick chickpea soup with short pasta, rosemary and olive oil. A meatless Friday dish of central Italy and San Marino, built on stored dry legumes.
How long does Pasta e ceci take to make?
Pasta e ceci takes 15 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Pasta e ceci?
Yes, within limits. Two tins of chickpeas, drained, with vegetable stock in place of the cooking water. Any small pasta, or spaghetti broken into short lengths.
What is the most important thing to get right in Pasta e ceci?
Cook them until genuinely soft, past the point of merely tender, because half of them are going to be blended.
