← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 Carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1 sprig Rosemary
• 1 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 2 cans tins of chickpeas (400 g each), drained and rinsed
• 1 l vegetable stock
• 150 g ditalini or broken spaghetti
• 80 g Pancetta or guanciale, diced (optional)
• 1 pinch Chilli flakes (optional)
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Warm the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery (and the pancetta, if using) and cook gently for 8 min until soft.
2. Stir in the garlic, rosemary sprig, chilli and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Add the chickpeas and stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 min so the chickpeas soak up the flavour. Fish out the rosemary.
4. Scoop out about a third of the soup, blend it until smooth and stir it back in to thicken the pot.
5. Add the pasta and cook for 10–12 min, stirring often so it doesn’t stick, adding a splash of hot water if it gets too thick. It should be dense and creamy, somewhere between a soup and a stew.
6. Season, rest for 5 min, then serve in bowls with a swirl of your best olive oil and black pepper.

Tips

• Diced pancetta in the first step adds a smoky depth, but then the soup is no longer vegetarian.
• It thickens as it stands; loosen leftovers with hot water when you reheat them.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

GialloZafferano Cooking with Manuela