Of course, this leads to a catch-22. There isn't much food in the house, so I need to go grocery shopping. But... I can't face the outdoors without something warm and hearty in my belly. So what's a Slacker Gourmet to do? Turn to Google, pull out various cans, jars, boxes and frozen foods, and in less than 1/2 hour, sit down to a filling bowl of comfort food (with enough leftovers for the next couple of days for lunch - bonus!).
Pasta e ceci sounds chic, but it's simply a quick stew comprised of pasta and chickpeas in a tomato base. Everyone seems to have their own recipe - I favored one that I found that treated the liquid base as more of a pasta sauce than a soup. The sprinkling of cheese at the end is purely optional; the sauce is plenty thick without it.
Pasta e CeciServes 4
Based on Pasta e Ceci (Pasta With Chickpeas)
Ingredients
- Olive oil for sautéing
- 1 small onion, diced (I used frozen diced onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (I used minced garlic from a jar)
- 1 tsp dried crushed rosemary or 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced (I used dried)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 14oz can diced tomatoes with the juice
- 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained and divided
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 pound small pasta (I used ditalini, elbow macaroni or smaller penne/rigatoni varieties would be good)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Parmesan or Romano for garnish (I used Romano)
Directions
Heat oil in a soup pot. When it shimmers, toss in onion and garlic and sauté until onion is soft. Add rosemary and stir around for another minute. Add tomatoes and their juice, red pepper flakes, and salt (I started with 1/2 tsp here), and simmer until tomatoes soften. Add 1 cup of the chickpeas, reserving the rest for later, and the cup of water, and simmer until heated through. Once the chickpeas are heated, purée the contents of the pot until smooth. Add remaining chickpeas, taste and correct seasoning (I added another sprinkle of salt and some pepper) and keep warm until pasta is cooked.
Meanwhile, boil salted water and cook pasta to al dente - it will suck up the liquid in the sauce and soften further. Drain and toss with the sauce and chickpeas. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan or Romano.
Puréeing the tomato-chickpea mixture transformed the humble ingredients into a thick, rich, creamy sauce - without any dairy whatsoever! Next time, I may add an additional can of chickpeas to the finished sauce, as I found myself wanting more of them. Also, I believe the pasta could be simmered directly in the sauce with the addition of extra water - another thing to try next time.
