P
Italian · Rome, Lazio
Ceci e Pasta alla Romana
Rome's chickpea and pasta soup — a dish tied to the Christian calendar, traditionally eaten on Fridays (meatless days) and particularly on the Friday of the Cross (March 14). Dried chickpeas cooked from scratch with rosemary and garlic, then roughly half-puréed to create a thick, creamy broth; short pasta (broken spaghetti, maltagliati, or ditalini) added directly to the chickpea broth and cooked in it. Finished with rosemary-infused olive oil poured over each bowl. The Friday dish of Rome's travertine workers and market vendors for centuries.
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I
The Market List
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400 g
dried chickpeas
soaked 12 hours in cold water, drained
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 whole head
garlic
unpeeled, halved across the equator
Your own market
3 sprigs
fresh rosemary
for the chickpea pot
Your own market
1 small
dried chilli
whole
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
160 g
short pasta
ditalini, maltagliati, or spaghetti broken into short lengths
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1
whole canned or ripe plum tomato
crushed; optional, for a tomato-tinged broth in the Friday Roman tradition
Origin · ItalyBosa Foods · Vancouver →
For the rosemary oil
100 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
plus more for the pot
Your own market
2 sprigs
fresh rosemary
for infusing
Your own market
1
anchovy fillet in oil
optional; dissolved in the oil before infusing
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
to taste
fine sea salt
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Place the soaked, drained chickpeas in a deep pot with the halved head of garlic, rosemary sprigs, whole dried chilli, and the crushed tomato if using. Cover generously with cold water — at least 2 litres. Bring to a boil over medium heat, skim any foam that rises, then reduce to a low simmer. Cook uncovered until the chickpeas are completely tender throughout, 45 minutes to 1 hour. The cooking liquid must remain plentiful and aromatic — this is the dish's only broth. Season with salt only once the chickpeas are fully tender. The pot is ready when a chickpea pressed between two fingers offers no resistance and the liquid smells of rosemary and garlic.
2
Remove and discard the garlic head, rosemary sprigs, and chilli. Ladle roughly half the chickpeas into a bowl and pass them through a food mill or purée them with a little of their cooking liquid until smooth. Return this purée to the pot and stir to combine with the whole chickpeas. The soup must now be thick enough to coat a spoon heavily before the pasta is added — this is where the dish lives or dies. If it is too thin, simmer uncovered until it thickens; if too thick, add a little of the reserved cooking water.
3
Warm a small saucepan over low heat. Add the 100 ml of olive oil and, if using, the anchovy fillet; stir until the anchovy dissolves into the oil. Add the two rosemary sprigs and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through a fine sieve. Reserve this infused oil at room temperature.
4
Bring the chickpea soup to an active simmer. Add the pasta directly to the pot and cook, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until the pasta is just tender and has absorbed some of the broth, thickening it further. Taste for salt. The soup is ready when the pasta yields without resistance and the broth has thickened to a dense, porridge-like body that holds its shape briefly when a spoon is drawn through it.
5
Ladle into warmed bowls. Pour a generous measure of the rosemary-infused oil over each portion — the oil is not a garnish but a final flavour layer integral to the dish. Serve immediately.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Dried chickpeas from a single named harvest — Ceci di Navelli (Abruzzo IGP) or equivalent artisan-dried legume; cold-pressed, single-estate Lazio or Sabina DOP extra-virgin olive oil; fresh rosemary cut the same morning.
02
Estate — Dried chickpeas from a reliable Italian or Spanish producer with a visible harvest date; a quality extra-virgin olive oil with clear provenance; rosemary from a kitchen garden.
03
Market — Dried chickpeas bought loose or in bag from a shop with good turnover (under one year old); a sound supermarket extra-virgin olive oil; fresh rosemary from a market bunch.
04
House — Any dried chickpeas within date; a light olive oil; dried rosemary used sparingly in the pot, a little more in the oil — the technique remains the same and the dish is still honest.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. A chickpea pressed between thumb and forefinger collapses without a hard core — the chickpeas are fully cooked.
◇Sight. The soup coats a wooden spoon in a thick, opaque layer before the pasta is added — it is ready for the pasta.
◇Sight. After the pasta is cooked, a spoon drawn through the soup leaves a brief, clean channel — the body is correct.
◇Smell. The rosemary oil, once strained, carries a clean, resinous perfume without any harsh or grassy note — it is ready to pour.
◇Where it lives or dies. The soup must coat a spoon heavily before the pasta enters the pot; a thin broth at this stage cannot be rescued by the pasta and the dish fails.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sparkling wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance