Pasta and chickpeas is a classic of Italian cuisine, a great substantial and genuine first course, light and balanced, ideal for warming and comforting cold winter days, and I have prepared this dish using the risotto-style pasta technique.
Follow my simple steps to achieve a delicious and tasty first course of Risotto-style Pasta and Chickpeas.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2-3
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz dried chickpeas
- 6.35 oz pasta (preferably fresh egg pasta)
- Half onion
- Half carrot
- Half stalk celery
- 1 sprig rosemary
- to taste chopped parsley
- 4.2 cups vegetable broth
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
Tools
- 1 Pot
- 1 Immersion Blender
- 1 Wooden Spoon
- 1 Stovetop
How to prepare Risotto-style Pasta and Chickpeas
I used dried chickpeas in the recipe, but if you prefer, you can use pre-cooked chickpeas to reduce preparation time.
Soak the chickpeas the night before, for at least 12 hours.
Boil the chickpeas. Rinse the chickpeas and put them in a pot with enough water to cover them and exceed by 4 inches.
Cover and cook them for about 70-80 minutes until they are soft but not mushy.
The cooking should be slow, the pot should “simmer,” so keep the heat at medium-low.
Salt the chickpeas only towards the end of cooking.
Prepare a mince of onion, celery, and carrot, put it in a thick-bottomed pot, even better if you use a copper or terracotta casserole, add the oil, peeled but whole garlic, chopped rosemary, and oregano (optional), a pinch of salt, and a grind of pepper.
Let the sauté go for a few minutes, then add a ladle of hot broth and let the vegetables wilt.
Drain the boiled chickpeas and pour them into the pot, let them flavor for a few minutes, then pour the broth until it covers the chickpeas.
When the broth is boiling, remove half of the chickpeas from the pot and blend them with an immersion blender, adding some broth to facilitate the operation, then pour them back into the pot.
Bring back to boil, then add the pasta and, stirring often with a wooden spoon to prevent the soup from sticking to the bottom, cook the pasta.
If necessary, add more broth to complete the cooking.
The final result of the Risotto-style Pasta and Chickpeas should be a creamy but not liquid pasta, so adjust in adding the broth during cooking, perhaps adding it little by little, adding more when the pasta has absorbed all the liquid.
At the end of cooking, turn off the heat, adjust salt and pepper if necessary, and serve immediately this delicious and creamy Risotto-style Pasta and Chickpeas on the table.
