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Ciceri e tria
Chickpeas with pasta
Ciceri e tria: Salento's chickpeas with fresh pasta, part of it fried crisp
In the Salento, at the heel of Puglia, ciceri e tria is an ancient dish, its name from the Arabic "itriya" for dried pasta: creamy chickpeas cooked with bay and garlic, tossed with homemade ribbons of flour-and-water pasta, a third of which are fried in olive oil until crisp and scattered on top. It is made for the feast of San Giuseppe on 19 March, and in the trattorie of Lecce all year round. Chef's tip: the contrast is the whole point; fry the pasta strips until golden and crunchy and add them only at the very last moment, so they stay crisp.
- Total time
- 130 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the chickpeas
- 10 ½ oz dried chickpeassoaked overnight, or 2 × 400 g tins
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt
For the pasta
- ½ cup warm water
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oildivided
- ½ tsp black pepper
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Drain 10 ½ oz dried chickpeas, cover with fresh water and add 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves garlic, 1 celery stick and 1 cherry tomato or small tomato. Simmer for 1½ hours, until very soft. Season with 1 tsp salt. (If using tins, simmer them with the flavourings for 15 minutes.)
90 minStep 2: Meanwhile knead 9 oz semolina flour or plain flour and ½ cup warm water into a firm dough and rest for 30 minutes. Roll out 2 mm thick and cut into strips 1 cm wide and 8 cm long. Dust with flour.
40 minStep 3: Heat 4 tablespoons of 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan and fry a third of the pasta strips for 2–3 minutes, until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper. Common mistake: frying too many at once; they stick together and go soft.
3 minStep 4: Cook the rest of the pasta in salted boiling water for 2–3 minutes, until tender. Drain and add to the chickpeas with some of their liquid, so it is creamy, not soupy.
3 minStep 5: Serve in bowls, topped with the fried pasta, the rest of the oil and ½ tsp black pepper.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 21 g
- Carbs
- 80 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 12 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ciceri e tria take?
- About 130 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of dried chickpeas?
- Cannellini or butter beans, same amount.
- What can I use instead of bay leaves?
- Leave it out, or a pinch of dried thyme (it's a background flavour).
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