Eat Healthy and Cheap
Pasta e Ceci, Whole Grain
Pasta e ceci is a Roman kitchen-sink soup built to stretch a few chickpeas and a fistful of broken pasta into dinner for the week. The whole grain version keeps that thrift but swaps in intact durum wheat, which holds a slight bite even after ten minutes in a simmering broth. The trick that replaces both cream and a parmesan rind: puree half the chickpeas into the broth before the pasta goes in, then let the pasta's own starch thicken it further as it cooks, the same move that makes a risotto creamy. Rosemary, simmered whole and pulled at the end, does the aromatic work a chunk of cured pork would otherwise do.
Ingredients
- 1 medium Yellow onions, diced
- 1 medium Carrots, diced small
- 1 stalk Celery, diced small
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 cup Canned crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups Chickpeas, cooked (about two 15 oz / 425 g cans, drained, liquid reserved)
- 1 cup Whole wheat short pasta
- 1 sprig Rosemary
- 1 leaf Bay leaves
- 1/4 tsp Red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, ground
- 1/2 Lemons, zested and juiced
- 3 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp Nutritional yeast
Method
- Set a wide, heavy pot over medium heat with 3 tbsp water. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring often and adding water a tablespoon at a time whenever the pot goes dry, until soft and starting to catch gold at the edges, about 10 minutes.
- Push the vegetables to one side and drop the tomato paste onto the bare spot of the pot. Let it sit undisturbed for a minute until it darkens to brick red, then stir it through the vegetables. This toasting step, not salt, is where most of the soup's savoriness comes from.
- Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, 4 cups water, the rosemary sprig, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer.
- Add half the chickpeas to the pot whole. Puree the remaining half in a blender with a ladleful of the hot broth until smooth, then stir the puree back in. This is the thickener: no cream, no flour roux, just chickpeas doing double duty.
- Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes so the broth reduces and concentrates.
- Stir in the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick to the bottom, until just tender, 10 to 12 minutes. The starch the pasta sheds as it cooks is a second thickener, the same principle as finishing a risotto.
- Remove the rosemary sprig and bay leaf. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and ground black pepper, then taste. The soup should be loose enough to eat with a spoon but thick enough to coat it; add water if it has tightened too much.
- Ladle into bowls and top with the parsley and nutritional yeast.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 345 calories, 17 g protein, 13 g fiber. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt.
