Pasta e Ceci
The Roman chickpea-and-pasta pot that costs about a euro a head.
Pasta e ceci is the Roman one-pot of chickpeas and short pasta, loosened to somewhere between a soup and a stew. Part of the chickpeas is crushed so the liquid thickens itself, which is what stops it tasting like pasta dropped into a tin. It costs about a euro a head.
Ingredients
- 400g tin chickpeas
- 150g short pasta
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- Olive oil, salt, pepper
Method
- 1
Fry garlic and rosemary in olive oil until fragrant, then stir in the tomato paste.
- 2
Add the chickpeas with their liquid and 400ml water; simmer 15 minutes.
- 3
Blend a third of the pot for body.
- 4
Cook the pasta directly in the soup, adding water as needed.
- 5
Rest 5 minutes, finish with pepper and raw olive oil.
Dried chickpeas soaked overnight halve the cost again.
The same weeknight decision
- Cacio e Pepe — Faster still, and just as few ingredients.
- Ribollita — The other Italian pot built on beans and bread.
- Revithada — Chickpeas the Greek way — baked slowly in the oven, not simmered with pasta.
The Trattoria Trail
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