Pasta and chickpeas, the rustic recipe

From a humble dish to a recipe full of flavor: here are all the secrets to prepare pasta and chickpeas in its rustic version.

320 g of mixed pasta

400 g of canned chickpeas

3 Slices of bacon

1 stalk of celery

1 small carrot

1 small white onion

1 sprig of rosemary

1 tablespoon of tomato concentrate

1 lt of broth

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Description

In the past, chickpeas were a cheap and nutritional substitute for fish and meat. That's why pasta and chickpeas was considered a humble dish that fed the families of farmers. Today, pasta and chickpeas is a traditional dish that is highly appreciated and has managed, thanks to its rustic taste, to become part of formal and elegant lunches.

Rustic pasta and chickpeas is simple to prepare and represents the perfect comfort food to warm up cold winter evenings, but not only. Like chickpea soup, pasta and chickpeas has many variations, the one we propose here is the rustic version made with mixed pasta and bacon. When you cook chickpeas always put a bit of creativity in your dishes, but remember that rosemary is the aromatic herb that enhances them the most.

Procedure

To prepare the rustic pasta and chickpeas, start by washing the vegetables. Make a very fine chop of celery, carrot and onion like the one you would prepare for Bolognese ragù.

In a large pan, sauté the chopped vegetables with a drizzle of oil and a sprig of rosemary. In the meantime, cut the bacon into small strips. When the onion has become transparent, add the bacon to the pan and mix well. Let the bacon become crispy and then add the chickpeas. Combine all the ingredients then add a ladle of broth and a tablespoon of tomato concentrate, then adjust the salt and pepper.

In another pot, boil the pasta and drain it halfway through cooking. Add the very al dente pasta to the chickpeas and finish its cooking in the pot adding a ladle of broth when necessary. This technique, defined as "risottare", will allow the starch of the pasta to give a lot of creaminess to the dish, just like a classic risotto.

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