Pasta e ceci
A thick, garlicky Roman stew of chickpeas and little pasta, half soup and half pasta, that costs almost nothing and tastes like it simmered all afternoon.
- 35 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $1.59 a serving
- 440 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary (optional)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup elbow macaroni
- ¼ cup grated parmesan (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for serving
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 cup water
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 440 calories, 17 g protein, 60 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $1.59 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No fresh rosemary? Fresh thyme works.
- No vegetable broth? Chicken broth works.
- No elbow macaroni? Penne works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, rosemary sprig and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, 1 minute, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until it darkens to a brick red.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Cooking the paste in the oil takes the tinny edge off and makes it taste rich.Add the chickpeas, broth, 1 cup water and the salt. over high heat, then and 10 minutes.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 10 min
Scoop out about 1 cup of the chickpeas, mash them with a fork, and stir them back into the pot.
Dolly’s tip: The mashed chickpeas make it thick and creamy with no cream at all.Stir in the pasta and , stirring often so it doesn’t stick, 10 to 12 minutes, until the pasta is tender and the stew is thick.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 11 min
Dolly’s tip: It thickens a lot as the pasta cooks. Add a splash of water if it gets stodgy.Fish out the rosemary sprig, with the pepper, and taste for salt.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Ladle into bowls, with a little olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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One-pan dinners ›Vegetarian dinners ›What to make with pasta and parmesan ›