Pasta e Ceci

Ingredients

  • 200g paccheri or similar pasta
  • 2 cups dry chickpeas
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 onion
  • 1 stick celery
  • a sprig of rosemary
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/2 cup tomato puree
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • a few chillies
  • bay leaf
  • peppercorns
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • Tools

  • stick blender

Prep

Soak the chickpeas for 24hrs, then boil them with a bay leaf and some peppercorns (but no salt). Chop carrot, onion and celery very finely to make soffritto.

Instructions

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil and add rosemary, crushed garlic and chillies. Add soffrito and fry for a while, then add tomato puree. Give that about five minutes, then add in some stock, a little at a time. Continue cooking, adding more stock to keep the chickpeas covered, and when the oil starts to separate, take out about a third of the mixture and blend it finely before adding it back in. If the chickpeas seem done, add pasta and enough water to cover it. You may have to add more water, so keep an eye on it.