Pasta and chickpeas is a delicious dish very ancient origins, typical of the gastronomic tradition of various regions of Italy, including Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Puglia and Sicily.
The main feature of this recipe is its high nutrient content, essential for the farmers, who had to support a whole day’s work in the fields, therefore having enough energy to continue their hard day. THE chickpeasIn fact, like all other legumes, they have a high quantity of proteins, and their integration with the carbohydrates contained in the pasta make this delicacy a truly unique dish.
Anyway, a perfect pasta and chickpeasaccording to the ancient Tuscan tradition, must preferably be prepared with egg tagliolini, to be added directly to the pan in which the chickpeas are prepared. Another important detail concerns the preparation of the legumes: a part of these, in fact, it will be passed through a food mill and added to a light sauté, prepared with a clove of garlic, a sprig of rosemary and a spoonful of tomato sauce. As soon as the chickpea puree Once it is slightly golden, it must be added to the rest of the whole chickpeas and only at this point, after the cooking water has reached the boil, can you also add the egg pasta.
All variations of pasta and chickpeas, from Neapolitan to Roman
As often happens with all traditional recipes, too pasta and chickpeas It has many variations, both in terms of pasta shapes, short or long, and in terms of the ingredients used. In Campania, for example, this dish requires a particular cooking process before serving it. After leaving the pasta and chickpeas to “rest” for a few minutes, prepare a light sauté with a couple of cloves of garlic, cut into very fine slices, some extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of spicy chilli powder (or whole, if you prefer). Afterwards, the pasta with chickpeas is served with a sprinkling of parsley and a pinch of chopped chilli pepper.
In the Salento cuisine, however, after seasoning the pasta with chickpeas, leave a little aside. This will then be fried, mixed with the rest of the soup and seasoned with a drizzle of oil. But be careful: this variant does not include short pasta, but fettuccine! There Pasta And Chickpeas Alla Romana, unlike the other versions, presents a further change. Tradition dictates, in fact, that the dish be enriched with salted anchovies, to be fried separately with a clove of garlic and tomato sauce. As soon as the anchovies have dissolved, a part of the cooking water from the pasta with chickpeas is added, seasoned and then added to the rest of the soup.
A very ancient recipe, handed down from the peasant gastronomic culture of Tuscany (still widespread today in some border areas with Lazio), involves the addition of chestnuts. These are first chopped and, later, added to a sauté with red garlic, rosemary and a handful of finely chopped raw ham fat.
Traditional pasta and chickpeas
Pasta ingredients and chickpeas
- 250g of mixed pasta
- 350 g of chickpeas
- 2 cloves of garlic
- salt, chilli pepper, chopped parsley, pepper to taste
- olive oil to taste
Pasta and chickpea procedure
Fry in a pan, in oil, one clove of garlic and chilli pepper; add the cooked chickpeas, sauté them and, pour in a little of the chickpea cooking water, cook for 5 minutes. Take a portion of the chickpeas from the pan, blend them and pour the resulting cream over the other chickpeas. “Drop” the mixed pasta and cook by pouring small quantities of hot water several times. When cooking is complete, bring the “dish” to the table after sprinkling it with a “sprinkle of pepper” and lots of parsley.
Enjoy your meal!
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