P
Italian · Abruzzo
Cicerchie in Zuppa con Pecorino e Peperoncino
Cicerchie (grasspea or chickling vetch — Lathyrus sativus) in a thick soup from Abruzzo's mountain areas — a pulse that was historically a survival food during famines and today is celebrated as a Slow Food Presidio. Cicerchie resemble small, irregular chickpeas with a distinctive nutty, slightly bitter flavour that is unlike any other legume. They are soaked for 24 hours, then cooked slowly with garlic, rosemary, and bay, and finished with olive oil, crumbled aged Pecorino Abruzzese, and dried peperoncino. Their cooking liquid becomes thick and rich from the cicerchie's unique starch.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
350 g
cicerchie (grasspea / Lathyrus sativus)
Slow Food Presidio Abruzzese where possible
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
3
garlic cloves
whole, unpeeled
Your own market
2
bay leaves
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1
sprig rosemary
fresh
Your own market
2
dried peperoncino
crumbled
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
for finishing; Abruzzese if available
Your own market
80 g
aged Pecorino Abruzzese
crumbled; not Parmigiano
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
fine sea salt
added only once cicerchie are fully tender
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Place the cicerchie in a large bowl and cover with cold water by at least 8 cm. Leave for 24 hours, changing the water twice during that period. Drain and discard all soaking water. The cicerchie are ready to proceed when they have swelled visibly and the soaking water has taken on a murky, slightly greenish cast — a sign the water-soluble compounds are leaving the pulse.
2
Transfer the drained cicerchie to a large, heavy pot. Cover with fresh cold water by 6 cm — this is the cooking liquid that will become the soup's body; it must be fresh, not the soaking water. Add the garlic, bay leaves, and rosemary. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Do not salt at this stage.
3
This is where the dish lives or dies: maintain a quiet, steady simmer — never a rolling boil — for 90 to 120 minutes, replenishing with hot water if the cicerchie surface, until each pulse is completely soft at its centre with no trace of grittiness when pressed between two fingers. Salt added before this point will make the skins leathery and extend cooking unpredictably; under-cooked cicerchie retain a gritty resistance that no subsequent step can correct.
4
Remove and discard the garlic, bay, and rosemary. Season with fine sea salt. Using a ladle or the back of a spoon, crush a quarter of the cicerchie against the side of the pot and stir them back through the liquid. The broth should turn visibly opaque and thick, coating the ladle with a starchy gloss. If it appears thin, continue to simmer uncovered for a further 10 minutes, watching the consistency — the soup will tighten further in the bowl.
5
Remove from the heat. Stir in the crumbled peperoncino. Ladle into warmed bowls at the thinner end of the desired consistency. Finish each portion with a generous pour of extra-virgin olive oil and a scattering of crumbled aged Pecorino Abruzzese. The cheese should begin to soften at the edges but hold its crumble — it is ready to serve the moment it meets the hot soup.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Slow Food Presidio cicerchie from L'Aquila province — lowest ODAP content, fully traceable; aged Pecorino Abruzzese from a single-flock producer; first cold-press Abruzzese olive oil from Colline Teatine DOP.
02
Estate — Cicerchie sourced directly from an Apennine cooperative or farmhouse producer; Pecorino Abruzzese from a named caseificio; a quality central-Italian extra-virgin olive oil.
03
Market — Dried cicerchie from a reputable Italian-produce importer; a well-aged Pecorino Romano or Pecorino Sardo as a substitute; any robust extra-virgin olive oil of declared Italian origin.
04
House — Dried cicerchie from a specialist online supplier; aged Pecorino of any designation; a neutral-fruity extra-virgin olive oil. Canned cicerchie are not suitable — the cooking liquid is a structural component of the dish and cannot be replicated.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Soaking water is murky and discoloured — a sign water-soluble compounds have migrated out; it must be discarded entirely before cooking begins.
◇Touch. A cicerchie pressed firmly between thumb and forefinger yields with no gritty resistance at its core — the definitive test of doneness before salting.
◇Sight. The cooking liquid coats the ladle with a starchy, opaque gloss after the partial crushing step — the broth has become the soup's body.
◇Smell. At the finish, the bowl carries the simultaneous mineral-nutty aroma of the pulse, the lanolin-sharp scent of the Pecorino, and the warm heat of crumbled peperoncino — all three must be present.
◇Where it lives or dies. The cicerchie must reach absolute tenderness — no grit at the centre — before salt is added or the soup is finished; every other step is recoverable, this one is not.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
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
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