Pasta e Ceci

Looking for a good vegetarian recipe?  This one is fabulous.  I made this after reading a recipe on Williams-Sonoma's website.  I mostly followed their recipe, but they have a few steps where they really maximize the number of dishes you're going to have to do later, and I don't know why.  (Except that they make money on bowls and pots and things...wait a minute.)  Anyway, I streamlined the steps a little bit, and modified some of the fussier instructions.  (Can you finely dice?  I sure can't.)  They also call it a soup, which doesn't seem quite right to me.  Soupy pasta, maybe, but not pasta soup.

Note that you need to start the night before by putting the dried chickpeas in a bowl with plenty of cool water to soak.


INGREDIENTS:

- 3 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/3 cup diced tomato (last time I used fresh, this time I'm using canned, I'll let you know if I can tell the difference)
- 1 1/4 cups dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight, drained and rinsed
- 6 cups water
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 fresh rosemary sprigs, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1/2 lb. tubetti pasta, cooked until al dente and drained.  I used orecchetti, because that's what they have at Trader Joe's.
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving


METHOD:

In a 3 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium heat,  3 Tbs. olive oil. Add the carrots and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Add the chickpeas, water and thyme sprigs, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the chickpeas are tender, about 1.5 hours. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs.

In a small sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the 1/4 c. olive oil. Add the rosemary and fry, 
stirring occasionally, until crisp, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season lightly with salt.

Remove 2 cups of chickpea mixture and blend with a stick blender until it is almost smooth.  Return to the pot with the rest of the chickpea mixture.  Add the pasta and the 1/2 cup olive oil and stir until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls, and garnish with the fried rosemary and cheese shavings.
SERVINGS: 6