How Italians Make Creamy Chickpea Pasta for Almost Nothing | Food That Looks After You Series. Today I am making something incredibly simple, satisfying, and very affordable using just a handful of ingredients. This video shows the preparation of a delicious pasta with chickpeas, tomato puree, garlic, and rosemary, perfect for an easy dinner. It’s a wonderful example of home cooking that’s both nourishing and a great budget meal. This creamy chickpea pasta, or Pasta e Ceci, cost me around ยฃ1.30 to feed two people, including the olive oil, electricity, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. That works out at roughly 65 pence per person, and yet it tastes rich, creamy, deeply comforting and incredibly satisfying.
This is exactly the sort of food many Italians grow up eating at home. Humble pantry ingredients, transformed into something beautiful. A tin of chickpeas, a little tomato purรฉe, garlic, rosemary, olive oil and pasta become a creamy one-pot meal that genuinely tastes like comfort food.
And this is also exactly why it belongs in the Food That Looks After You Series. Chickpeas are naturally rich in fibre and plant-based protein, olive oil brings healthy fats, garlic and rosemary add flavour naturally, and because the pasta cooks directly in the sauce, every spoonful becomes deeply satisfying without needing cream or expensive ingredients.
In todayโs world, where food costs continue to rise, meals like this matter. Honest food. Affordable food. Mediterranean food. Food that quietly looks after you while still tasting absolutely delicious.
This version is my own take on a traditional Pasta e Ceci. I keep the chickpea liquid for extra flavour and creaminess, finely chop the rosemary so it becomes part of the dish, and blend part of the chickpeas with the garlic to create a naturally velvety sauce. Simple ingredients. Very little cost. Big flavour. If you make it, let me know how it turns out in your kitchen.
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Ingredients (Serves 2 generously)
200g orecchiette pasta
1 x 400g tin chickpeas (including the liquid)
2 cloves garlic
1 small sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 heaped teaspoon tomato purรฉe (around 10โ12g)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
550โ600ml water (plus a little extra if needed)
Salt to taste
Black pepper (optional)
Cooking for four people?
Simply double all of the ingredients.
Cooking Method
Start by adding a generous splash of olive oil into a saucepan or pot large enough to hold the pasta too, because this is a proper one-pot meal.
Add the garlic cloves and your finely chopped rosemary. I like chopping the rosemary very finely, almost like sand, because there are only a handful of ingredients in this dish and rosemary brings a tremendous amount of flavour. You can leave it whole if you prefer and remove it later, but I genuinely recommend keeping it in.
Allow everything to gently cook over a medium heat for two or three minutes. Do not rush this part. You want the garlic and rosemary to slowly perfume the olive oil without the garlic turning brown. If garlic browns too much, it becomes bitter.
Now add your chickpeas, liquid included. I like keeping the chickpea water because it brings extra flavour and helps create a naturally velvety texture. Stir everything together and add a generous teaspoon of tomato purรฉe.
Pour in around 550โ600ml of hot water and let everything gently simmer for around 15 minutes. By now your kitchen should smell wonderfully Mediterranean.
Take around two-thirds of the chickpeas together with the garlic cloves and a little of the cooking liquid and blend until creamy. Pour that back into the pot.
Add the pasta directly into the sauce. This matters because the pasta absorbs all of the flavour while also releasing starch, making the dish naturally creamy without needing any cream at all.
Cook gently, stirring from time to time. Orecchiette absorbs quite a bit of liquid, so you may want to add a splash of water near the end if needed.
Once the pasta is almost ready, turn the heat off, place the lid on, and let everything quietly rest for a couple of minutes. Sometimes a little patience makes all the difference.
Finish with black pepper if you like and, of course, a little drizzle of olive oil at the top. Simple food. Honest food. Food that quietly looks after you.
00:00 Introduction
00:49 Garlic & Rosemary Tip
01:24 Building the Flavour
02:12 Why I Keep the Chickpea Water
02:49 Adding Tomato & Water
03:31 Mediterranean Kitchen Reflection
04:07 Creating the Chickpea Cream
04:53 Cooking the Pasta in the Sauce
05:55 One Pot Pasta Tip
06:46 Naturally Creamy Without Cream
07:06 Final Resting Tip
07:29 Ready to Serve
08:15 Taste Test & Final Thoughts
#pasta #chickpeas #italianfood
25 Comments
It still amazes me that a meal this comforting and satisfying can cost around ยฃ1.30 for two people, roughly 65p per person, including olive oil and everything else. Simple ingredients, very little cost, and yet so much flavour. Have you ever made Pasta e Ceci before? And if so, does your family version use chickpeas, cannellini beans or something different? As always, I would love to hear how this turns out in your kitchen. Buon appetito, Francesco.
Ciao Francesco, che spettacolo la ricetta. Che bontร e bellissima! Come sempre, ti auguro buon fine settimana a te e Julie. Un abbraccio forte bello Super Chef di Sicilia ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ฏ๐๐
Gracia.
I like this recipe so much, itโs the main reason I have rosemary in my garden. But Iโve never cooked it as a one pot meal, so youโve taught me something new!
I think I would rather not blend the check peas…it look like Homus.
Lovely… I'd of added the water to the jug to get the creamy chickpea puree out, just a thought. Thank you I will make this in the week and the french use the water from the can to. โจ๐โจ
This looks like a beautiful dish – thank you! Would you add the salt along with the water? Or at the end?
I followed your suggestion and added the water from the tin of borlotti beans I made a stew with yesterday- it was wonderfully flavoursome, and added thickness and depth of flavour to the dish! All that extra protein as well, of course! Great suggestion, chef! Thank you for these videos – they're inspiring and heartwarming- and the fact that you are inclusive of vegan folk like me, is greatly appreciated ๐๐
Very tasty indeed.
Yes Iโm going to make this and no, I canโt follow a recipe ๐คฃ. Iโm going to add a tin of anchovies and 2 ghost peppers to the oil and fresh shrimp when itโs almost done ๐
New subscriber here. This looks like a great recipe. I will try it. Love the soft voice and rainbow cooking utensils. Greetings from Australia.
Just wondering if you use any salts?.
I enjoy the simplicity of the dishes you prepare as it helps inspire those of who want to eat fresh, healthy food but lack the time for preparing elaborate meals. Molto grazie!!
Thanks for a vegan recipe! Always enjoy your presentations.
God bless you.โค
This looks so delicious! I think it could be good with some added pumpkin as well. I like to make my own version of a plant based pumpkin mac n 'cheese,' and it's really good. I'm trying this recipe soon. Thank you! โบ
I don't know if this dish falls under it, but: I love the italian cucina "povera". it just such a relatable philosophy, not just for cooking!
Is a dish made with olive oil considered vegan?
Ah yes, look forward to trying this, many thanks.
I can almost smell the delicious aroma. ๐. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I adore chickpeas. I have never thought of cooking them with the water and having the pastas in the same pan. Will definitely trying this very soon. โค
This vegan thanks you. It's so easy to make a beautifully creamy texture with plants only!
This looks delicious!! & higher in plant protein! I love all the individual ingredients & am going to try this tonight. I am positive we will love it! I have a feeling this will become a go-to meal for us. Thank you!! Grazie! Lynne
Groovy, my line of Wades came to Virginia in 1635.
I have improvised pasta dishes using either chickpeas or cannellini beans (sometimes with whole wheat pasta), often with the addition of some kind of leafy greens or even broccoli. It makes for a very satisfying meal with very little fuss and only a few ingredients. Thanks for introducing me to this beautiful dish. My Sicilian nonna would have approved! I enjoy your clear, calm, gracious approach to cooking and sharing your recipes. And now I think I must finally buy an immersion blender! Grazie e un caro saluto.
Very simple and tasty meal , I love chickpeas , thanks Francesco . When you cook the pasta in with the sauce , is it best to use a wide , shallow , ' saute ' type pan ?
That's all very good but you didn't provide any measurements in cups. Our US friends will be lost๐
Hello my friend!
I read the title to this and thought, I probably wouldn't like this. Not that I have ever tried it. Then I thought, but I thought I didn't like eggplant either. So I've watched this and I really should give it a go. If I do I will let you know.
I hope that all is well there.