Lagane e Ceci

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Lagane e ceci is Basilicata's ancient pasta-and-chickpea dish—wide, flat ribbons of fresh flour-and-water pasta served in a thick, garlicky chickpea stew enriched with olive oil, chilli, and often a handful of fried breadcrumbs for crunch. The dish is a direct descendant of the Roman 'laganum' (flat sheets of dough, referenced by Horace and Apicius), making it one of the oldest continuously prepared pasta dishes in Italy. The lagane are simple—durum wheat flour and water, rolled thick (2-3mm) and cut into wide, irregular ribbons about 3cm across—with a rough, porous surface that absorbs the chickpea broth. The chickpeas are soaked overnight, simmered for hours with garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, and a dried chilli until very tender, with about a third mashed back into the cooking liquid to create a thick, starchy base. The lagane are boiled separately and added to the chickpea stew, or in some versions cooked directly in the chickpea broth (which makes the dish thicker and more porridge-like). A generous drizzle of raw olive oil at serving is essential—Basilicata's olive oil is robust and peppery, and it lifts the earthy chickpeas. Some versions include a sautéed soffritto of garlic and dried chilli in olive oil poured over the dish at the last moment (a 'frizzulo'). The dish is substantial, vegan, and profoundly comforting—cucina povera at its most elemental and satisfying.

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