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Paste e ceci in black bowl with spoon.
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5 from 3 votes

Pasta e Ceci recipe

A traditional recipe for delicious pasta e ceci. This bowl of Italian pasta with chickpeas is the perfect comfort food: hearty, cozy and nourishing.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Pasta
Cuisine: Italian
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 631kcal
Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Equipment

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
  • 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
  • 3 stalks celery (finely chopped)
  • 1 large carrot (finely chopped)
  • 4 cloves garlic (minced or put through a garlic press)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (or 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced)
  • 14 oz canned plum tomatoes (pureed)
  • 1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon paprika (or red pepper flakes, tweak amount to your preference for heat)
  • 29 oz canned or cooked chickpeas
  • 4-5 cups mushroom stock (or vegetable stock or water)
  • 12 oz pasta (use any small pasta, including ditalini, elbows, farfalle, conchiglie, rigatoni or penne. I used chickpea pasta, which is higher in protein.)
  • Salt to taste

For serving

Instructions

  • Place olive oil in large pot or Dutch oven. Add onions, carrots and celery and season with salt and ground black pepper. Turn heat to medium and saute the veggies for a couple of minutes.
    Sofrito vegetables in pan.
  • Add the garlic, bay leaves, rosemary and oregano. Continue to sauté the veggies until they are almost soft, about five minutes. Don't let them brown.
    Bay leaves, garlic and oregano added to pan.
  • Stir in the tomato paste and tomato puree and mix. Add paprika or red pepper flakes. Mix and bring the sauce to a boil. Lower heat and simmer five minutes.
    Tomatoes and paprika added.
  • Stir in the drained chickpeas, along with four cups mushroom stock (or water). Mix well and bring back to a boil. Add salt to taste.
    Chickpeas added to pan.
  • Add the pasta and mix it in.
    Orzo added to sauce.
  • Bring to a boil and let the pasta simmer in the broth until al dente (it should take about the same time as it would if you cooked the pasta separately). Stir a few times to make sure the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom, and add more water if needed.
    Pasta e ceci cooking.
  • Once the pasta has cooked, turn off the heat. The sauce will continue to thicken as it stands. Serve hot or warm with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some vegan parmesan.
    Pasta in bowl.

Notes

  • Cut the sofrito vegetables quite small. You want everything in this stew - the veggies, pasta and chickpeas - to be roughly similar in size.

Nutrition

Calories: 631kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Potassium: 691mg | Fiber: 24g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 3552IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 202mg | Iron: 12mg