Recipe Details

Pasta e Ceci (Italian Chickpea and Pasta Stew)

Pasta e Ceci, or Italian chickpea and pasta stew, is classic Italian comfort food. If you can't find ditalini pasta, use spaghetti that have been broken into pieces.

Makes:6 servings

Ingredients

1 cup dry chickpeas
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 yellow onion
1 stalk celery
1 small zucchini
1 carrot
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 sprig fresh sage leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
3 to 5 cups chicken broth, as needed
2 stewed, peeled tomatoes
240g pasta ditalini, such as Barilla® Gluten Free Ditalini
Salt and pepper to taste
1 fresh cayenne pepper, seeded and minced, or more to taste
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

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Directions

Prep:30 mCook:75 mReady:9 h 45 m

Rinse chickpeas under cool water. Pick up handfuls of chickpeas and rub them together with your hands under the water to wash chickpeas. Place chickpeas in a large stew pot, cover with water and add baking soda; swirl chickpeas and water to distribute baking soda. Leave to soak for 8 hours or overnight.
The next day, pour chickpeas through a strainer and rinse well under cold running water, eliminating any skins or discolored chickpeas; set aside.
Grate onion, celery, zucchini, and carrot on the large teeth of a cheese grater, This step is very important as grated vegetables give a different flavor than diced.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the stew pot over medium heat, and sauté grated vegetables for 1 minute. Mix in sage, rosemary, and thyme and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add 3 cups broth, all the chickpeas, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until chickpeas are tender, about 1 hour. Stir in pasta. Add more broth only as needed to achieve a thick, stew-like consistency.
Cook until pasta is tender with a bite, 8 to 10 minutes. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Remove from heat and divide amongst serving bowls. Top each bowl with minced cayenne pepper and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.