Pasta con Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)

Pasta con Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)

Hello everybody, I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo exited to share this recipe with you! It has to be one of the best foods I've ever had! ( ok maybe top ten, fine top ten to twenty, maybe twenty-five) but that doesn't matter. I love this recipe because of its garlic sauce & I encourage you to try it!

Watch Vesper and her sous-chef (Mom) make Pasta e Ceci!

Stay until the end for bloopers!

Recipe

This is a super simple and customizable recipe. "Pasta con ceci" means "pasta with chickpeas" in Italian. It's one of our favorite quick dinners and we make it a LOT. We love that it uses pantry ingredients that we almost always have and it's very flexible and easy to prepare.

Feel free to adjust the ingredients to your taste (for example, try fresh tomatoes, different pastas, less olive oil, less salt, fresh basil, etc.)

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 3-4 T of olive oil (to taste)
  • 1/2 - 1 t. salt
  • 3 T tomato paste
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2-1 c of dry pasta (we prefer small shapes and err on the side of more pasta)
  • Parmesan cheese (grated, optional)
  • Red pepper flakes (optional)
  • Cracked black pepper (optional)

Equipment

  • Large saucepan
  • Cutting board
  • Chef's knife (optional - for smashing garlic cloves)
  • Large cooking spoon
  • Measuring spoons
  • Measuring cups

Directions

  • In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil until it shimmers
  • Add garlic cloves and cook for a few minutes until golden and toasty (don't burn, but you want them to have some color)
  • Add the salt and the tomato paste and, stirring constantly, heat for about 30 seconds
  • Add the chickpeas, pasta, and water and raise the heat to bring it to a boil
  • Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for about 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed
  • Serve in bowls topped with a bit of grated parmesan, black pepper, and red pepper flakes (to taste) if desired

Vesper's Tiny Chef Tips

  • Tip #1: You do not need to remove the garlic from the finished dish as it cooks down to be very mild and tasty, but you can if you can fish it out before eating if you prefer
  • Tip #2: Don't add too much parmesan (like Mom does)!

FRIENDS LET'S REMEMBER THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU HAVE FUN AND ENJOY YOUR FOOD!

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