‘Ciceri e Tria’, one of the best pasta with chickpeas ever. Ready for a little trip? Or how about a voyage of flavors at least (if the plane ticket and suitcase aren’t ready to go at the moment). Today we travel to Italy’s South, where we will explore the cuisine from Salento, a little spot at the very tip of Puglia, featuring strong, rich dishes full of flavor and personality.
If you’re familiar with the cuisine of Salento, you’ll recognize the terms pasticiotti and rustici, perhaps – but have you ever heard of Ciceri e Tria? The name of the dish – Ciceri e Tria – literally translates to ‘fried pasta with chickpeas’ in English, though the name itself has a story all its own.
In the photo gallery, discover some interesting info about this special regional dish. And the recipe? Below.
The Recipe: Ciceri e Tria, pasta with chickpeas
Preparing this dish might take some time, but the result pays off in the end. The best part? The frizzuli – the little pieces of fried pasta to top it all off!
Pasta with chickpeas ingredients:
2 cups durum wheat flour, 9 oz dried chickpeas, 1 yellow onion, 1 celery rib, Salt and pepper
How to make pasta with chickpeas
First, prepare the tria: Create a fountain with the flour. Gradually add lukewarm water and knead the dough until it is compact and smooth. Let the dough rest for an hour. After an hour, roll it out the dough using a rolling pin. Roll the dough onto itself in a spiral and cut into slices for strips – similar to tagliatelle pasta. Flour and let dry for one full day. The night before making this dish, soak the chickpeas in plenty of water with a handful of coarse salt. The following day, drain them and put them in a pot with plenty of water and boil. As the foam forms on the surface, remove it using a skimmer or slotted spoon. Make sure to add more salted water as you remove the foam. Once the chickpeas are boiled, add the sliced onion and celery rib. Cook for two hours.
Time for the frizzuli (that are basically just fried tria): Fry a handful of pasta strips in olive oil. Drain and dry with paper towels. Meanwhile, boil the remaining tria in salted water. Once the chickpeas are ready, drain and set aside. In a separate pan, sauté some garlic. Add the chickpeas and the tria to the garlic. Garnish with frizzuli and enjoy!