A new recipe for me, and this one is a keeper. I’ve had me eye on this for a while (it was published by Cook’s Illustrated in November 2015) and finally made it last night. It is delicious, and will make a regular appearance on our table. It is a hearty, flavorful dish, that is both inexpensive and quick to prepare. Real winter comfort food.
I used tubetti pasta rather than the ditalini in the recipe, since I couldn’t find that shape here in Kentucky. Cook's suggested orzo pasta as another substitute. I think any small pasta shape will do. Cook's Illustrated seems to think this will take about 30 minutes to put together and with ingredients in your pantry. It took me a bit longer than 30 minutes, and I had most, but not all, of the ingredients in my pantry.
Changes to the original recipe:
I suggest you keep the juices drained from the tomatoes and use it to make up part of the two cups of water. Why throw away that flavor?
Serves 4 generously
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 small carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 small celery rib, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 onion, halved and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 (14 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- 1 anchovy fillet, rinsed and patted dry (I think a squirt of anchovy paste will work here too)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons minced rosemary
- 2 (15 ounce) cans of chickpeas (do not drain) I suggest Goya brand
- 2 cups water (add the tomato juice here if desired)
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 pound ditalini
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (I used the juice from 1/2 lemon)
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- 1 ounce (1/2 cup) grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Process pancetta in a food processor until ground to a paste, about 30 seconds, scraping down side of bowl as needed.
- Add carrot, celery, and garlic and pulse until finely chopped, 8-10 pulses.
- Add onion and pulse until onion is cut into 1/8 inch pieces, 8-10 pulses.
- Transfer mixture to a Dutch oven.
- Pulse tomatoes in now-empty food processor until coarsely chopped, 8-10 pulses, and set aside.
- Add oil to pancetta mixture and cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until fond begins to form on the bottom of the pot, about 5 minutes.
- Add anchovy, pepper flakes, and rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in reserved tomatoes, chickpeas, and their liquid, water and 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits.
- Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add pasta and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 10-12 minutes.
- Stir in lemon juice and parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve, passing Parmesan and extra oil separately.
