Ciceri e tria, or chickpeas and fried pasta, is a traditional dish from the Salento region of Apulia - Puglia, mainly prepared for the feast of Saint Joseph on March 19th.
Tria is a kind of thick, irregular tagliatelle made with whole-wheat durum wheat flour, sometimes with the addition of barley or spelt. Today I wanted to taste Puglia, so I made the same recipe, but using Murgia black chickpeas and making them into a cream.
These tiny chickpeas are rich in protein, vitamins, and iron, and are also a Slow Food Presidium. Keep in mind that they require longer soaking and cooking times, so plan ahead.
Ciceri e tria recipe
After soaking the chickpeas for 24-36 hours, cook them for a good 2 hours while you make the pasta. Mix 00 flour and re-milled semolina with water and make tagliatelle no longer than 6-7 cm. Then, fry 40% of the tagliatelle while cooking the remainder in the soup.
In a pan, add garlic and oil. Brown the garlic until golden, then remove it. Add the chopped onion, bay leaf, and a sprig of rosemary. Let it simmer, then add the chickpeas and thin with vegetable broth or hot water.
When the chickpeas are soft, remove the bay leaf and rosemary and blend with an immersion blender to create a chickpea cream. Add the pasta and cook.
When cooked, season with salt, serve, and add the fried pasta.
In the glass I drank a 2020 Aglianico del Vulture, a structured wine yet velvety on the palate just like black chickpeas.
Follow us