Lablabi-Spiced Pasta e Ceci with Harissa Oil

Method

1. Finely chop the onion and thinly slice the garlic. Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Heat most of the olive oil in a 20 cm pot on medium heat and cook the onion for 5 min, until soft and translucent.

   Add in this stepExtra-virgin olive oil 2½ tbspOnion ½

   medium heat

2. Add the garlic, most of the cumin, the tomato paste and the rosemary and fry on medium heat for 1 min. When the tomato paste darkens slightly on the bottom of the pot, it's developed its savoury depth.

   Add in this stepGarlic cloves 2Ground cumin ¾ tspTomato paste 2 tspRosemary sprigs 1

   medium heat

3. Add the chickpeas and stock, bring to the boil on high heat, then lower to medium-low heat and simmer for 10 min. Remove the rosemary sprigs, then crush a third of the chickpeas against the side of the pot with a ladle, or pulse briefly with a stick blender, to make the broth creamy.

   Add in this stepCanned chickpeas, drained 240 gVegetable stock 750 ml

   high heat→medium-low heat

4. Add the pasta straight to the pot and cook on medium-low heat for 10 min, stirring often. The pasta drinks up the broth as it thickens, so add splashes of hot water if it gets too stiff. It should be somewhere between a thick soup and a risotto. Season with salt to taste.

   Add in this stepSmall pasta (ditalini or similar) 120 gSalt to taste

   medium-low heat

5. In a small pan, warm the remaining olive oil with the rest of the cumin on low heat for 1 min until fragrant, then turn off the heat and stir in the harissa.

   Add in this stepExtra-virgin olive oil 1 tbspGround cumin ¼ tspHarissa 2 tsp

   low heat

6. Turn off the heat under the pot and let it sit for 2 minutes to settle, then ladle into bowls. Drizzle with the harissa oil, grate over the Parmigiano and serve with a lemon wedge.

   Add in this stepParmigiano Reggiano 20 gLemon (wedges) ½