The region of Puglia has a very strong Arab influence and the name of this dish (Tria e Ciciari) certainly reflects that. Basically, the primary components of this dish are simply pasta and dried chickpeas. Reflecting how inventive cucina povera (cuisine of the poor) truly is, the Pugliese fry a portion of the pasta giving the dish a lovely crunchy texture. You can use dried or canned garbanzos. If you are using dried chickpeas, it is best to soak them at least 12 hours before cooking them. Personally I soak them over 36 hours (especially if they’re organic), then I let them simmer in a pressure cooker for 2 hours. photos coco zordan
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Chickpea Soup with a Crunchy Twist – “Tria e Ciciari ” – Vegan
cakeThe Recipe
Servings
4/6
Prep time
10 min.
Cooking time
30/40
Print
Ingredients
- for 4 people
6-8 oz of organic dried garbanzos or 2 cans of organic garbanzos
8-10 oz spaghetti
1 small onion (or shallot)
4-6 cups vegetable or chicken bouillon
1/3 c. tomato sauce
1-2 rosemary sprigs
salt, black pepper, italian paprika to taste
Directions
Heat oil in a 6-qt. saucepan over medium-high; add chopped onion and cook until soft, 8-10 minutes.
Add chickpeas, stir, add stock
the tomato sauce and rosemary and simmer 5/10 minutes.
Remove part of the chickpeas, remove the rosemary sprigs and purée until smooth; return chickpeas to pan.
With your hands break 8-10 oz of spaghetti in small pieces. Heat the oil and once it is very hot fry 1/3 of the spaghetti in small batches until they are lightly browned and crisp.
stir in the remaining pasta (the 2/3 pasta not fried) into the pot with the chickpeas, stirring to mix well. Cook until the pasta is “al dente“. If the soup is very dense add some more stock, the denser the soup the more time the pasta will take to cook.
Serve the piping hot pasta with chickpeas in individual bowls, topping each with a portion of the fried pasta as well as some cracked black pepper, a drizzle of XV olive oil and (optional) grated cheese.
