Basilicata — the lagane tradition is the oldest documented pasta tradition in southern Italy. The chickpea pairing reflects the legume-based poverty diet of the Lucanian interior, where meat was rare and pulses provided the daily protein.
Lagane e cicciari (chickpeas) is one of the most ancient pasta preparations in Italy — lagane are the direct descendant of the Roman laganum, one of the first pasta-like preparations mentioned in Latin sources. In Basilicata, lagane are wide, flat, irregular pasta strips made from flour and water (no egg — a pre-egg-pasta tradition), cooked directly in the chickpea cooking liquid and dressed with the chickpeas, olive oil, garlic, and dried chilli. The pasta and chickpeas are inseparable — the starchy cooking liquid becomes the sauce. It is the antipasto, primo, and secondo of the Lucanian poor table combined into a single bowl.
Lagane e cicciari in their correct, thick consistency is deeply satisfying — the starchy chickpea broth, now thickened by the pasta's cooking starch, carries the flat pasta strips and whole chickpeas in a unified, porridge-like mass. The olive oil and chilli at the end brighten everything. It tastes of ancient Mediterranean simplicity.
Soak chickpeas overnight. Cook in plenty of unsalted water until completely tender (1.5-2 hours). Reserve the cooking liquid — this is the pasta-cooking medium. The lagane dough: 00 flour and warm water, no eggs, knead until smooth. Roll to 2-3mm, cut into irregular wide strips (2-3cm). Cook the lagane directly in the chickpea broth (seasoned with salt) — the starch from the pasta thickens the liquid. Add the cooked chickpeas for the last 3-4 minutes to warm through. The dish should have a dense, porridge-like consistency. Finish with a thread of good olive oil, garlic (in the oil, briefly sautéed), and dried chilli. Serve in bowls.
The starch from the lagane cooking in the chickpea liquid creates a natural sauce without any added fat — the pasta's gelatinous coating and the chickpea's starch together produce a creamy, satisfying medium. A small amount of rosemary in the chickpea cooking liquid adds depth. This dish, made with fresh dried chickpeas, has a flavour that commercial tinned chickpeas cannot approach.
Salting the chickpeas during cooking — the skin hardens; salt only after fully cooked. Using egg pasta for the lagane — the egg dough is too rich; water-only is traditional. Not using the chickpea cooking liquid — the starchy broth is the sauce; cooking the pasta in fresh water and adding it to the chickpeas produces a different, lesser dish. Under-cooking the chickpeas — they must be completely soft before the pasta is added.
Oretta Zanini de Vita, Encyclopedia of Pasta; Slow Food Editore, Basilicata in Cucina