Some nights you just need some comfort food and a good glass of wine.
When that’s the case, pasta e ceci is the perfect answer. Unfussy and easy to prepare with pantry staples, it’s a warm and soothing antidote to a long week and the perfect way to ease into the weekend.
This pasta soup, as our boys call it, is nourishing and soothing. Garlic and rosemary provide a fragrant base to the broth, while chickpeas and pasta all’uovo (egg-noodles) give it a hearty texture. There is hardly a more simple and delicious dish. Our stomachs are full and our minds are at peace.
Wine pairing
We recommend you try a Saladini Pilastri Rosso Piceno with your pasta e ceci. This organic blend of Montepulciano and Sangiovese is a well-balanced and earthy wine with nice spiciness and acidity.
Pasta e ceci
Pasta e ceci is nourishing and soothing. Garlic and rosemary provide a fragrant base to the broth, while chickpeas and pasta all’uovo (egg-noodles) give it a hearty texture.
Ingredients
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 spring rosemary
- 2 cans of chickpeas
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup whole tomatoes, pureed
- 2 cups egg-pasta fettuccine, broken into pieces
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Quarter each clove of garlic lengthwise and sauté it along with the entire sprig of rosemary (do not remove the needles) in olive oil over medium heat until the garlic is golden brown and the rosemary has turned a sage green color. Remove the garlic and rosemary, and discard.
- Rinse the chickpeas and add them to the seasoned olive oil. Let them cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Add the water and tomato puree, and stir. Turn the heat up to high and let it come to a boil uncovered. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- After a few minutes, spoon out approximately 2 cups of chickpeas, crush them or puree them in a food processor, and return the to the pot.
- When the soup boils, add the pieces of fettuccine and cook until al dente.
- Remove from heat and serve in soup bowls with a drizzle of olive oil on top.
11 thoughts on “Pasta e ceci”
I admire your willingness to cook in a hotel room kitchen! But it just does to show that you can make marvellous, simple meals under just about any conditions.
Best wishes for a speedy transition back to normalcy!
Thanks, Frank! We’re finally getting settled in a temporary home and and are ready to start blogging again.
This is my favourite dish! I wish my husband enjoyed it as much as I do!
We think you should keep working on him – he’ll become a believer! Your house looks fantastic.
Bravi for keeping a smile on your face and the blog going in the midst of all the ups and downs of your situation. Pasta e ceci was a great choice for a cheer-me-up meal. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that we will soon read about a bigger kitchen and a more settled situation.
Thanks, Simona. We’re getting close to being settled and are eager to get back into the kitchen – lasagne this afternoon!
I’ve never made pasta a ceci, pasta e fagioli is much more popular in our area…
Anyway I hope you get to move into your rental soon and can start cooking great meal in a great kitchen instead of a little hotel hot plate!
We like pasta e fagioli, too. Pasta e ceci is just a little twist common in Roman cooking.
Just wanted to stop by and say hello. I hope things are getting back on track and that you are in a real kitchen now. One day I’ll tell you my pasta e ceci “care package” story!
Thanks, Lisa. We’d love to hear it! I thought of you as I was having gnocchi with wild boar ragu’ at the Butcher Block the other evening. Please let us know if you ever make it to the Twin Cities.
Again, I am overdue for a Twin Cities visit and I will definitely let you know. I am drooling reading about the gnocchi! The other day I spoke to someone who had been in Minneapolis and the first thing she said to me was, “I went to this great restaurant…..” and I immediately knew what she was going to say next!
P.S. be careful on those roads of yours!
Comments are closed.