Lagane e Ceci Calabresi con Peperoncino Fresco

Drain the soaked chickpeas and place them in a deep, heavy pot with the garlic, rosemary sprig, and the fresh chillies. Cover generously with cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook until the chickpeas are completely tender and their skins yield without resistance — press one between thumb and forefinger; it must offer no hard core.

While the chickpeas cook, make the lagane. Mound the semolina on a work surface, add the salt, and work in the lukewarm water gradually, kneading until the dough is firm, smooth, and no longer sticky — it will be stiffer than an egg dough. Rest it, covered, for 30 minutes. Roll to a thickness of roughly 3 mm, then cut into strips approximately 2 cm wide and 10 cm long. Irregular edges are correct.

Remove the rosemary sprig from the chickpea pot. Discard it. Remove and crush several chickpeas against the side of the pot with a spoon to begin thickening the broth; the remainder stay whole. Add the olive oil to the pot. Assess the liquid level: there should be enough broth to cook the lagane, but not so much that the dish will remain a clear soup. Ladle off excess if necessary. This calibration of liquid is where the dish lives or dies — too much water and the pasta floats in thin broth; too little and the lagane will scorch before they cook through.

Bring the chickpea pot to an active simmer and add the lagane directly into the broth. Stir frequently to prevent the strips from clumping. Cook until the lagane are tender throughout and the released starch has drawn the broth into a thick, cohesive consistency — not a soup, not a dry pasta, but a single spoonable mass that holds its shape briefly in the ladle before settling.

Taste and adjust salt. Ladle into wide bowls. Finish each portion with a thread of raw extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of dried oregano. Serve immediately — the dish continues to thicken as it sits.