PASTA E CECI (PASTA AND CHICKPEAS)

Pasta E Ceci (Pasta and Chickpeas) image

Provided by Megohm

Time 1h10m

Yield 1 pot, 4-6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 18

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4 ounces smoked pancetta, diced (or bacon)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium onion, small dice
1 stalk celery, small dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ounce pimiento, diced (or roasted red peppers)
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or 1/8-1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon anchovy paste (optional)
1 (796 ml) can diced tomatoes (3-4 cups)
1 (156 ml) can tomato paste
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 1/2 cups small-cut pasta (or broken long-cut pasta, shells, ditalini, broken spaghetti, etc)
salt and pepper
water

Steps:

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, add olive oil, and begin to saute the pancetta or bacon over medium-high heat. When sufficiently browned, remove all but 2 tsp or so of the fat.
Add onions and celery, sweat three minutes or so until they soften, add garlic, cook 1 minute or until fragrant. Add pimento (or roasted red peppers), cook for a minute or so, then stir in hot pepper flakes (or cayenne), and anchovy paste, if you're using it.
Add tomatoes, paste, and chicken broth, stirring until tomato paste is smooth. Add sugar, bay leaf and basil. Make sure it comes to a simmer if it already isn't, then turn heat down to medium-low, cover and let simmer for at least 40 minutes or so, stirring fairly frequently.
Add pasta, and a little extra water if needed (I went with a bit under 1.5 cups of additional water), stir, and simmer, till pasta is tender. You will need to stir pretty frequently, or else surrender yourself to bottom-stick-stew.
Top with some Parmesan or Romano.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 324.3, Fat 3.7, SaturatedFat 0.6, Sodium 991.5, Carbohydrate 60.4, Fiber 7.7, Sugar 9.6, Protein 13.9