Chickpea Pasta and Chicken Soup Recipe for Pasta e Ceci with Chicken
This chickpea, pasta and chicken soup recipe makes pasta e ceci with ‘pollo’ (chicken). The Italian dish pasta e ceci (pasta and chickpeas) is not traditionally made with chicken but it’s incredibly delicious with chicken. It’s a fantastic use of leftover roast chicken or you can pick up a rotisserie chicken on the way home. This makes two very generous bowls, four starter-size bowls, or 6-8 small bowls if you're serving a 3-4 course Italian meal.
Servings: 2
Calories: 1040kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 60 g bacon or pancetta, diced
- ½ tsp chilli flakes or ground paprika
- 2 fresh rosemary sprigs finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 400 g can of chickpeas
- 4 cups water and more as needed
- ½ tsp salt or more to taste
- 125 g ditalini or tubettini or macaroni
- 200 g shredded chicken leftover roast chicken or rotisserie chicken, or poached chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
Instructions
- In a soup pot or large deep pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering, add the onion, garlic and bacon and fry for around five minutes or so until fragrant and the onion is translucent.
- Add the chilli flakes or paprika and finely chopped fresh rosemary to the mix, stir to combine well, and sauté for a minute.
- Pour in a can of chickpeas, including their liquid, and add the tomato paste, water, salt, and stir, increase the heat, and bring to a boil.
- Add the pasta and shredded chicken, stir, and cook, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed to maintain a soupy consistency, until the pasta is done.
- Stir in the grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, taste and add more salt, pepper and/or chilli flakes and adjust as needed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle on more grated cheese and chilli flakes, drizzle on some extra virgin olive oil, garnish each bowl with a sprig of rosemary, and serve with crusty bread.
Notes
To serve: more grated parmesan cheese, preferably good Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, chilli flakes, salt and cracked black pepper, and crusty bread
Nutrition
Calories: 1040kcal | Carbohydrates: 112g | Protein: 58g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 1127mg | Potassium: 1296mg | Fiber: 19g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 633IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 233mg | Iron: 9mg