Pasta e Ceci

"The first time i tried pasta e ceci, i fell utterly in love and couldn’t stop making it for months. The flavor and texture are supremely comforting and, at the risk of offending our Italian cousins, I liken its soothing qualities to a grown-up beans on toast. Depending on where you are in Italy, pasta e ceci changes drastically from region to region. In the poorer south, it appears in its purest form, made with eggless semolina pasta, chickpeas and maybe a little tomato. Whereas, as you move north into the wealthier and more abundant regions, anchovies begin to appear in the soffritto base, with rich egg pasta and generous chunks of pancetta. I love it in all these forms, particularly with good pancetta, and depending on the weather, what’s in the fridge, I often throw in some of these luxurious extras. But for this book I thought I’d show you just how good it can be in its humblest form. My only request is that you use good-quality cooked chickpeas."

Excerpted from The Farm Table Text copyright © 2023 by Julius Roberts. Photographs copyright © 2023 by Elena Heatherwick, except as noted. Illustrations copyright © 2023 by Jethro Buck. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group.