Pasta with chickpeas, in Italian pasta e ceci, is a delicious one-pot family meal ready in less than 30 mins. It's easy, vegan, creamy, healthy, and so good! Quantities yield 4 serving (approx 1½ cup each)
Prep Time5 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: pasta
Cuisine: Italian, vegan, vegetarian
Keyword: Pasta e ceci
Servings: 4
Calories: 472kcal
Author: Katia
Ingredients
1Tbspolive oil or extra virgin olive oil
1medium-sized onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 cans(14oz/400gr each)chickpeas, drained
medium-sized potato, cubed
1Tbsptomato paste
1rosemary sprig (or ½ tsp or dried rosemary)
4 cups(960 ml)low-sodium vegetable broth (or water), use more if needed
1tspfine salt
⅛tspblack pepper
½ lb(8oz/220 grams)short pasta shapes (shells, orecchiette, ditali...)
2-3Tbspchopped parsley (optional)
To serve (optional)
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
grated parmesan or pecorino cheese (optional)
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-based pot over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the diced onion, garlic, and cook until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the chickpeas, the cubed potato, and the tomato paste, and the rosemary sprig. Stir to coat in flavor, about 1 minute.
Then add vegetable broth or hot water, salt, pepper (1 tsp of salt is fine if you use water or low-sodium broth. But if you use regular broth, it's important to adjust the seasoning at the end and not at the beginning, see notes below).
Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, then cover the pot, reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
Turn the heat off, remove the rosemary, and with an immersion blender puree only part of the chickpeas. Alternatively, smash chickpeas and potatoes with the back of a spoon or a potato masher. Be careful, the liquid is still hot.
Turn the heat on, bring to a light boil, and add the dried pasta.
Let it simmer and stir often (otherwise the pasta will stick to the bottom of the pot). Cook until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite. You don't need to cover the pot with a lid, but make sure you keep an eye on it. If the soup seems too thick, add a touch of water and thin to the desired consistency.
When it's ready to serve, taste and adjust the season with salt and pepper according to your taste.
Stir freshly chopped parsley, divide into bowls and serve with a drizzle of olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and grated parmesan or pecorino cheese if you don't keep it vegan. Enjoy!
Notes
Liquid ratio: 4 cups of water/broth is an estimate. You migh need to add or to reduce the amount of water according to the type of pasta and to your preference.If you don't have an immersion blender: scoop out about 1 and 1/2 cup of the chickpeas and some broth to a blender, puree until smooth and return it to the pot.Seasoning: I usually cook pasta e ceci with water, but If you prefer to use regular vegetable or chicken broth, keep in mind it might tastes quite salty on its own. It's important to adjust the seasoning at the end and not at the beginning as you never really know how strong the salt from the broth is.Serve immediately:pasta e ceci is best served immediately; as it sits, the pasta soaks up the liquid. If the soup gets too thick, you can thin it with a bit of broth or waterFreezable: the chickpea soup can be frozen, without the pasta, for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until simmering, add the pasta, and cook until the pasta is ready.NOTE: nutritional values are estimates only.