Today, a recipe from the heart: pasta with chickpeas and fish.

Sagnette is a typical pasta shape from Abruzzo, made only with water and flour, hence a fresh pasta without eggs from the tradition of simple cooking. These are little pasta rectangles usually served with brothy sauces and legumes. In this case, we combine them with a sauce made with chickpeas and fish. I’ve used dogfish, but it’s also excellent with clams, mussels, or perch fillet.

This is a recipe from the heart because it’s my dad’s specialty. When I was little, we would always go to the mountains with friends, and he would make this recipe for everyone. Such a delight!

I made the sagnette by hand, but you can also prepare them with a pasta maker or use another pasta shape like cavatelli or gnocchetti sardi.

Remember not to throw away the liquid you find in the chickpeas can because you can use it for many recipes. I’ve made a small collection of recipes with aquafaba. You might want to check it out if you’re curious.

Now let’s see together, step by step, how to make this recipe.

Ingredients

5 oz oz fish (dogfish, perch, monkfish)
2 cloves garlic (small)
0.2 cups cups olive oil
1 bunch parsley
1 cup cups canned chickpeas
1.3 cups cups tomato sauce
to taste salt
12 oz oz durum wheat flour (or re-ground semolina)
0.6 cups cups water

Tools

Below you will find links to some tools used to make the recipe

1 Scale
1 Cutting Board
1 Knife
1 Pan
1 Pastry Board
1 Rolling Pin
1 Pastry Cutter

Let’s make sagnette together

First, let’s prepare the pasta. On a work surface, place the flour and form a well with the water in the center. Knead carefully to avoid spilling the liquid, obtaining a smooth and compact ball. Roll out a piece of dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of about 1/8 inch, then use a pastry cutter to cut strips about a finger’s width and then rectangles of about 1.5 to 1.75 inches.
In a pan, add the garlic, chopped parsley (leave a little to sprinkle on top at the end), and olive oil, and sauté lightly. Then add the fish and cook over medium-low heat, adding a small ladle of water.
After a couple of minutes, add the tomato sauce and salt, and let it cook for five to six minutes. Then, remove the fish and debone it on a plate. It will be very simple since dogfish has only one central “bone.” Return the fish to the tomato sauce and add the drained chickpeas. Let it cook for another four to five minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of salted water. When it’s cooked (fresh pasta will be quick, taking just a couple of minutes), drain it into the sauce pan without discarding the cooking water. Mix the pasta with the sauce and add a couple of ladles of cooking water. Sprinkle with a little parsley, and our sagnette with chickpeas and fish are ready.
Take a photo, post it on social media tagging me (una riccia che pasticcia instagram and facebook), and let me know if you used sagnette or cavatelli.