Pasta and Chickpea Soup

Ingredients

• 250 g Chickpeas
• 200 g Ditalini pasta
• 3 fillets Anchovy fillets
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 2 sprigs Rosemary
• 100 g Tomato passata
• 4 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Black pepper

Steps

1. Soak the dried chickpeas in plenty of cold water for at least 12 hours.
2. Drain, then simmer them in unsalted fresh water with a clove of garlic and a sprig of rosemary for about 1 hour, until tender.
3. Keep the cooking water.
4. In a large pot, warm the olive oil over low heat with the whole garlic clove and the rosemary sprig.
5. Add the anchovy fillets and stir until they dissolve completely into the oil.
6. Remove the garlic and rosemary.
7. Stir in the tomato passata.
8. Cook gently for 5 minutes so the soffritto loses its raw edge.
9. Add the drained chickpeas, reserving a ladleful.
10. Pour in enough of the hot chickpea cooking water to cover and let everything simmer for 10 minutes so the flavors marry.
11. Blend the reserved ladle of chickpeas with a little cooking water and stir it back in: this thickens the soup naturally without losing texture.
12. Season with salt and a generous grind of black pepper.
13. Add the short pasta directly to the pot with more hot cooking water as needed, stirring often so it doesn't stick, until the pasta is al dente and the soup is dense and creamy.
14. Turn off the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes.
15. Serve in warm bowls with a thread of raw olive oil and an extra grinding of black pepper.