Creamy Pasta and Chickpeas in the Siracusan Style
Today’s dish takes us back to ancient Rome. One of the most noble families of the time, the Ciceros, gave this legume its name.
Thus, chickpeas spread throughout the Mediterranean basin and were eventually cultivated worldwide.
Different countries, different recipes.
In Sicily, we primarily prepare them in 3 ways: as a soup, with rice, and as I propose today, with ditalini pasta in a creamy style.
It is customary to cook this dish for the day of Santa Lucia, the Patron Saint of Syracuse, once a Roman city.
In addition to the traditional cooking in a pressure cooker, I will also offer the method using the Thermomix, but I will still provide the cooking times for the traditional pot.
A tip for those who suffer from diabetes: do not use carrots and potatoes.
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- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 2 Minutes
- Preparation time: 8 Hours
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Slow heat, Boiling
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Sicily
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 381.15 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 53.99 (g) of which sugars 6.17 (g)
- Proteins 15.48 (g)
- Fat 10.93 (g) of which saturated 1.56 (g)of which unsaturated 3.01 (g)
- Fibers 9.79 (g)
- Sodium 462.05 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 400 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
Let’s go shopping
- 7 oz Dried chickpeas
- 1 carrot
- 2.1 oz onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 4 cherry tomatoes (ripe)
- 8.8 oz pasta (ditalini)
- to taste Extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 1 chili pepper (optional)
- 5.3 oz potatoes
Creamy Pasta and Chickpeas in the Siracusan Style
Tools
What we need to make
- Pressure cooker
- Bowl
- Chopping board
- Wooden spoon
- Knife
- Immersion blender
Preparation of Creamy Pasta and Chickpeas in the Siracusan Style
Traditional Cooking
We will begin the night before.
Soak them in the same pot where you will cook them, add twice the height of water, and leave them to soak for at least 8 hours.
Once the soaking time has passed, we begin cooking.
Wash the vegetables and put them whole in the pot along with the chickpeas.
Add water until it reaches twice the height of the legumes, but be careful not to exceed the maximum level indicated in the pot.
At this point, if you use a pressure cooker, cook for at least 25/30 minutes from the moment it starts whistling.
If you opt for traditional cooking, cook them for about 1.5 hours, adding water little by little, which must be hot, never cold, otherwise the chickpeas remain hard.
At the end, when cooking is completed, scoop all the vegetables with a slotted spoon, and put them in a glass bowl.
Blend everything,
You’ll get a creamy texture, which we will add to the dish at the end.
For this dish, I chose ditalini because they hold the cooking well, and the ridges better retain the flavor of the sauce.
When the chickpeas are cooked, I transferred them to a more convenient pot, checked that the level of their broth was sufficient (about 2 inches above the legumes), brought it to a boil, and added the pasta.
Be careful to maintain a low flame and stir often, otherwise they stick to the bottom; adjust salt and pepper, and if you like, also a pinch of chili pepper.
If needed, you can add more water.
At the end of cooking, add the creamy vegetables we prepared before, stir, and season with a little extra virgin olive oil.
Serve hot with a sprig of rosemary.
Here is the Creamy Pasta and Chickpeas in the Siracusan Style prepared in the traditional way.
Soak the chickpeas in 1 liter of water for at least 12 hours
After 12 hours, place the chickpeas and potatoes in the steaming basket, with the soaking water in the bowl, and cook for the time described on the package at 212°F reverse speed 1
The cooking time may vary depending on the dryness of the legume, which is why I don’t specify it.
Set aside the cooked chickpeas, and transfer the cooking water to a separate container.
If you choose canned chickpeas, you can skip this direction and proceed as follows.
Remember that 200g of dried chickpeas equals 600g canned, drained.
Now put the onion, carrot, and celery stalk cut coarsely into the bowl, and chop for 5 sec at speed 7.
Pour the extra virgin olive oil and sauté for 3 min. reverse 248°F speed 1.
Then add the tomatoes and half of the chickpeas with the drained and boiled potatoes.
Blend 5 sec speed 5.
Pour into the bowl 25 oz of water that we previously set aside, and if needed, add more fresh water.
Cook for 10 min reverse 212°F speed 1
Open the bowl and pour in the pasta and 1 tsp of salt.
Cook for the time indicated on the package reverse 212°F teaspoon speed
At this point, add the rest of the boiled chickpeas, which are still whole, and cook 1 min. reverse 212°F speed 1
At the end of cooking, let it rest for 3 minutes in the bowl, and then..
If you like, you can add chili pepper to taste, and serve. Here’s the Creamy Pasta and Chickpeas in the Siracusan Style prepared with the Thermomix
Storage
Creamy Pasta and Chickpeas in the Siracusan Style. This dish can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. In the freezer, I recommend storing only the chickpea soup without pasta for up to 4 months.
Creamy Pasta and Chickpeas in the Siracusan Style
How can I enrich the dish?
With pork rinds, bacon, sausage.
