Italian · Roman

Pasta e Ceci

Name: Pasta e Ceci
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 garlic clove lightly crushed; 1 sprig fresh rosemary; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 480 g cooked chickpeas drained and rinsed; 900 ml vegetable stock hot; 240 g ditalini pasta; fine salt to taste; black pepper freshly ground

Creamy Roman-style pasta and chickpeas

A comforting one-pot pasta with chickpeas, rosemary and tomato, cooked until the broth turns naturally creamy.

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Prep10 minsCook25 minsServes4DifficultyEasy

Bright, satisfying and built for real life.

This recipe brings together the generous flavours of Italian and Roman cooking in a format that works on a busy day. Read through the method before starting and adjust seasoning to your taste.

Ingredient notes & swaps

Use small broken pasta if ditalini is unavailable.
Use water with a little extra salt instead of stock.

The recipe

Pasta e Ceci

10 min prep25 min cook35 min total4 servings

Scale:

Ingredients

Base

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 tbsp tomato paste

Soup

480 g cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
900 ml vegetable stock, hot
240 g ditalini pasta

Seasoning

fine salt, to taste
black pepper, freshly ground

Method

1
Warm the oil with the garlic and rosemary until fragrant, without letting the garlic colour.
Set a timer: 3 minutes
2
Stir in the tomato paste and half the chickpeas, then mash some chickpeas against the pan.
Set a timer: 3 minutes
3
Add the stock and remaining chickpeas and bring to a steady simmer.
Set a timer: 5 minutes
4
Add the pasta and cook, stirring often, until al dente and creamy; loosen with hot water if needed.
Set a timer: 12 minutes
5
Remove the rosemary and garlic, season and rest for two minutes before serving.
Set a timer: 2 minutes

Pasta e ceci appears in regional forms across Italy. This practical Roman-style version cooks small pasta directly with chickpeas so their starches make the broth creamy without dairy.