Pasta And Chickpeas

Method

1. Prepare the base sauce: in a pan, heat olive oil, add chili pepper and garlic cloves, and sauté until the garlic is golden brown.
2. Add tomato passata and a pinch of salt, let it simmer for a few minutes to create the 'picchi pac' effect.
3. In another pan, heat olive oil and garlic, add pre-cooked chickpeas with some of their liquid, and a sprig of rosemary broken in half.
4. Sauté briefly, then add a couple of ladles of the tomato sauce (less than for the broccoli version, to keep the color rosy).
5. Bring to a boil, then cook for 5 minutes. Remove the rosemary sprig.
6. Blend half of the chickpea mixture with some liquid until creamy, then return the whole chickpeas to the pan.
7. Add a little water to adjust consistency, then add the ditalini pasta directly to the pan.
8. Cook the pasta in the sauce, adding hot water as needed, until al dente and the sauce has thickened.
9. Serve the pasta and chickpeas, garnishing with pieces of licorice, a drizzle of olive oil, and optional pecorino.