Pasta e Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)
One of Italy’s favorite comfort food dishes, pasta e ceci is easy to make, hearty and healthful and full of robust flavor. Serve it as a first course, or as a main course for a nutritious weeknight dinner.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
- 2 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
- 1 medium carrot, finely diced
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1 fresh chili pepper (or a generous pinch of red pepper flakes)
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas in their liquid (or 2 cups cooked chickpeas and their cooking liquid)
- 1 14-ounce can diced or chopped tomatoes
- 6 cups water, vegetable, or chicken broth
- 1 parmesan rind, plus freshly grated parmesan for serving
- Kosher salt
- 2 cups ditalini pasta (or small, short pasta of your choice)
Instructions
- Sauté the vegetables. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium. Once shimmering, stir in the garlic, carrot, celery, and onion. Cook on medium to medium-low to avoid scorching the onion and garlic until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and chili pepper or red pepper flakes and cook for another 2 minutes to blend the flavors.
- Simmer the chickpeas. Stir in the chickpeas, along with a ladleful of their cooking broth (or the liquid from the can). Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer, then cover partially and simmer until the liquid is slightly reduced to a saucy consistency, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat if necessary to prevent burning.
- Make the broth. Add 6 cups of liquid–this can be water, broth, chickpea cooking liquid, or a combination. Add the parmesan rind and season with a pinch or two of salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are completely soft and the parmesan rind has softened about 20 minutes.
- Add the pasta. Stir in the pasta and boil gently for about 15 minutes, until the pasta is just tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, if needed. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle your best olive oil over each serving. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
- I like to use a medium bodied extra virgin olive oil for sauteeing, then a more robust variety for finishing.
- If you like a thicker broth, puree 1/2 cup of the chickpeas with a splash of cooking liquid or water and stir this mixture into the pot along with the whole chickpeas (step 2).
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams, and spices.
Nutrition
Calories: 353.3kcal | Carbohydrates: 53.1g | Protein: 10.6g | Fat: 11.1g | Saturated Fat: 1.6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6.9g | Cholesterol: 0.1mg | Sodium: 179.5mg | Potassium: 296.7mg | Fiber: 5.1g | Sugar: 3.2g | Vitamin A: 1793.6IU | Vitamin C: 13.3mg | Calcium: 55.1mg | Iron: 1.7mg
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