I was actually thinking of this dish WHILE I was running. So I got home and made it immediately. Correction: I had to hobble to the grocery store to get some things that I needed, but it hit the spot and was definitely worth it!

There are no pictures of the dish in this post, because it was late when I made it and the lighting was not good enough to get some good pictures, so I’ll update the recipe once I get some good photos. Don’t worry, it will not take long for me to make this again!

I hope you enjoy this dish! My mom told me that my Nonna made it all the time, so I guess she was running that half with me today when I was thinking about this dish!

Pasta e Ceci

delicious italian comfort food

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 438kcal

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves
1 rosemary
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
2 cans chickpeas
4 cups stock
1/4 tsp black pepper
8 oz ditalini pasta
2 oz grated cheese

Instructions

In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and rosemary, season lightly with salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic softens and turns golden, about 5 minutes. Add pepper flakes and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook until tomato paste is fragrant and turns dark brick red, about 1 minute.
Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Bring to a simmer, and cook until wine has emulsified with olive oil and mixture is slightly reduced, about 2 minutes.
Remove Dutch oven from heat; remove and discard rosemary sprig. Add 1 cup (170g) chickpeas and 1 cup (240ml) stock, transfer mixture to blender and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Pour mixture back into Dutch oven.) Stir in remaining 2 cups (340ml) of chickpeas, 3 cups (710ml) stock, and black pepper. Season with salt to taste.
Bring chickpea mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in pasta and cook, stirring frequently, until pasta is just shy of al dente (1 to 2 minutes less than the package directs, as the pasta will continue to cook off-heat), and liquid is reduced to a consistency that falls between soupy and saucy. Adjust consistency as needed with additional water, stock, or chickpea cooking liquid, keeping in mind that liquid will tighten up as it cools due to starch from the chickpeas.
Remove from heat, add cheese, and stir rapidly to incorporate. Season with salt to taste. Divide between individual serving bowls (for the dried chickpea version, look out for the garlic cloves and rosemary sprig; remove and discard them), and drizzle each serving with olive oil. Serve, passing extra grated cheese at the table.

Nutrition