Chickpea Pasta (Pasta e Ceci)

Ingredients

•  2 tbsp Olive Oil, plus extra to serve

•  50g pancetta, cubed

•  1 onion, finely chopped

•  1 celery stalk, finely chopped

•  1 carrot, chopped

•  2 garlic cloves, one crushed

•  6 sage leaves

•  1 tbsp Double Concentrate Tomato Purée, diluted in 1/4 cup of the stock

•  1 x 400g can Chickpeas

•  1L chicken stock

•  200g Spaghetti, broken up into small pieces

•  50g parmesan rind, cubed

•  small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped, to serve

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat, then add the pancetta and gently fry for 3 min.

2. Add the onion, celery, carrot, crushed garlic and sage leaves, then fry for another 5-6 mins until softened.

3. Stir in the diluted tomato purée and the chickpeas, including the water from the can, then add the vegetable stock and some salt. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Leave to simmer for 10 mins.

4. Turn the heat back up and add the broken spaghetti and Parmesan rind. Leave on a high heat for 10 mins or until the pasta is cooked. To serve, top each portion of pasta with a little parsley, Parmesan cheese and optionally a generous drizzle of the olive oil. Season to taste. You can also add thinly sliced raw red onion on top (traditional). I usually omit that.