Creamy Pasta and Chickpeas: The Original Neapolitan Recipe (The Secret to Make It Thick and Perfect)
Problem No. 1: Is your pasta and chickpeas too watery or the legumes not creamy enough?
SOLVED!
The true magic of Pasta and Chickpeas lies in its texture: it shouldn’t be a soup, but an enveloping dish, almost “all’onda,” where the chickpeas melt and embrace the pasta. Many fail because they don’t create an adequate creamy base.
The Solution (The Secret of the Cream):
Extended Soaking (10 hours): As my grandmother used to do, who slowly cooked the chickpeas in the fireplace, patience is everything. A long soak prepares the chickpeas to break down.
Blend One-Third: The fundamental trick is to take about one-third of the already cooked chickpeas and blend them with their cooking liquid. This natural cream, rich in starch, is the key to giving the dish the perfect thickness without adding flour or thickeners.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
CREAMY PASTA AND CHICKPEAS Ingredients
- 5.3 oz dried chickpeas
- 2 quarts water (for cooking the chickpeas)
- 8.8 oz pasta (Preferred pasta: Ditali, maltagliati, or tubetti are ideal shapes.)
- 7.1 oz canned tomatoes (Crushed or quickly passed through a sieve.)
- to taste seed oil (Seed oil for a delicate sauté, EVO for finishing the dish.)
- 1 clove garlic (To be removed after sautéing for a milder flavor.)
- to taste rosemary (A whole sprig to be removed at the end of cooking.)
- 1 leaf bay leaf
- to taste salt
- 1 pinch chili pepper (optional)
Tools
- Pot
- Pan
Step-by-Step Preparation: The Secret of Creaminess
Soaking: The day before, place the dried chickpeas in plenty of cold water and let them soak for at least 10 hours.
Cooking: Rinse the chickpeas well, place them in a pot with plenty of salted water (about 2 quarts) and cook for about 3 hours, until they are tender.Crush the canned tomatoes with a fork on a plate.
Pour the oil into a pan, add the garlic clove and sauté for a minute.
Add the canned tomatoes, rosemary, bay leaf, salt, and a pinch of chili pepper. Cook the sauce for 15 minutes.Remove the garlic. Pour the sauce into the pot with the cooked chickpeas and let it flavor for a few minutes.
Take 1/3 of the mixture (chickpeas and liquid) and blend it with an immersion blender until you get a smooth cream.Pour the pasta into the pot with the chickpeas and cook directly in the broth and sauce. If necessary, add some hot water.
At the end of cooking, turn off the heat, add the blended chickpea cream, and mix vigorously.
Plate immediately with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil raw and, if desired, a pinch of pepper or chili pepper. Soaking and Cooking: The day before, soak the chickpeas (10 hours) and then cook them in a traditional pot for about 3 hours (as in the classic method).
Sautéing: Pour the oil and garlic into the bowl: 3 minutes – 194°F – speed 2 counter-clockwise.
Sauce: Remove the garlic and add the crushed canned tomatoes, salt, rosemary, bay leaf, and chili powder: 15 minutes – 212°F – speed 2 counter-clockwise.
Cream: Add one-third of the boiled chickpeas to the sauce: 30 seconds – speed 8.
Final Cooking: Pour the pasta into the pot with the chickpeas (traditional) and cook. At the end of cooking, incorporate the chickpea cream and mix well before serving.
Further Information, Variations, and Storage
Further Info: Corn Oil in the Sauté?
Corn or sunflower oil is often preferred in cooking legumes and fish-based sauces because it has a more neutral taste. This allows the sweet taste of chickpeas to dominate, leaving extra virgin olive oil to enhance the dish raw.
Variations and Chef’s Tip
Smoky Flavor: For an extra touch, add a piece of pork rind or guanciale to the sauté (to be removed before blending the chickpeas).
Mixed Pasta: Instead of a single shape, use a mix of short pasta (ditali, tubetti, and broken pieces) for a more rustic texture.
Storage
Pasta and Chickpeas is a dish that improves the next day! It keeps in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
If you want to freeze it, separate the cooked chickpea sauce from the pasta. Freeze the sauce and add fresh pasta when defrosting.
Notes / Substitutions
Ingredient Notes / Substitutions
Dried chickpeas Preferably large dried chickpeas, such as ceci del solco dritto.
Water About 2 quarts for cooking the chickpeas.
Preferred pasta Ditali, maltagliati, or tubetti are the ideal shapes.
Canned tomatoes Crushed or quickly passed through a sieve.
Corn or EVO oil Seed oil for a delicate sauté, EVO for finishing the dish.
Garlic To be removed after sautéing for a milder flavor.
Rosemary A whole sprig to be removed at the end of cooking.
Bay leaf To help digest the legumes.
Chili powder To give a slight kick (optional).
