This warming Sardinian fregola with chickpeas is a nutritious and delicious slightly spicy vegetarian/vegan pasta soup recipe from Sardinia. Known as 'pasta e ceci' in Italian, this is perfect cold weather comfort food. Add spinach for colour and more fiber or pancetta/guanciale for a non-vegetarian version.
Pasta with chickpeas is healthy.
When the cold days of November and December hit, using pasta in soups is very popular here in Italy. Pasta adds healthy carbohydrates and bulk that turn a soup into a hearty dish. Legumes are also a common ingredient in Italian soups. In this Sardinian recipe, the chickpeas add protein, calcium, iron and fiber as well as other nutrients, so this fregola with chickpeas is a well-balanced meal too!
I have always found it intriguing that many traditional Italian recipes are so nutritious. Back in the day when dishes like pasta with chickpeas became popular, people didn’t really understand the nutritional value of the different foods they ate! They just put dishes together based on what was seasonal and available and what they grew or foraged!
Chickpea recipes in Sardinia.
People have cultivated chickpeas in Sardinia since the times of Ancient Rome. As you can imagine, there are many traditional chickpea recipes on the island. Many of these are types of soup like ‘minestra di ceci e finocchio’, made with chickpeas and wild fennel or ‘zuppa di ceci e verza’ (chickpea and savoy cabbage soup).
Another famous Sardinian chickpea recipe is stewed chickpeas. The Sardinians also use chickpeas in a very old sweet Christmas recipe called ‘cixirau’ in which they cook chickpeas with honey, sugar, Christmas spices like cinnamon and cloves and orange peel!
The city of Sassari in Sardinia is famous for a type of chickpea flour pancake called ‘fainé alla sassarese’. This popular street food was imported from Liguria centuries ago by Genovese sailors who landed in the ports of northern Sardinia. Sardinians eat it either alone or flavored with onions and/or Sardinian sausage.
What is fregola?
Fregola (or fregula) is a small pasta typical of Sardinia. It is traditionally made of balls of durum wheat semolina and water, worked by hand and then toasted in the oven. This pasta is uniquely Sardinian and not found in other Italian regions. It looks very similar to couscous but with a slightly nutty flavour.
Fregola is often called Italian couscous or Sardinian couscous. The fregola I used for this recipe was made of khorasan wheat (kamut in Italian). It wasn't toasted but just dried. If you want to learn more about this unique pasta, check out my post on Sardinian fregola.
Dried or canned chickpeas?
I definitely prefer using dried chickpeas to canned. But, of course, this recipe can be made with both. Obviously, soaking dried chickpeas overnight and then boiling them takes time. However, I think the result is more flavourful and healthier. Dried chickpeas are more economical and they have a more natural flavour.
The two main differences between canned and dried chickpeas is firstly the latter have less sodium. Secondly, the leftover liquid from cooked chickpeas is rather special. Known as aquafaba or chickpea water, it can be used as a vegan substitute in many recipes that call for eggs or egg whites!
How to make Sardinian fregola with chickpeas.
This Sardinian fregola with chickpeas is a pretty simple recipe. Apart from the fregola and chickpeas, all you need is onions, garlic, celery, tomatoes, tomato passata, parsley, some vegtable broth and peperoncino (red chili pepper). You can leave the latter out if you don’t like spicy food.
Because the fregola pasta cooks in the soup it actually absorbs a lot of the liquid, so the end result can be more like a soupy risotto than a soup. However, if you want your Sardinian fregola with chickpeas to have more liquid, just add some extra broth or water.
Fregola and chickpeas are a great combo.
Fregola and chickpeas are such a great combination. Not only are they delicious together but the similarity in the size and shape of both gives this soup a fabulous texture and look. However, if you don’t have fregola you can use Israeli couscous instead, it looks pretty similar.
Ingredient additions and substitutions.
Spinach or kale go really well in this Sardinian version of pasta e ceci, as do mushrooms or other legumes like red or black beans. Instead of peperoncino (red chilli pepper), use fennel or rosemary. Non vegetarians can also add pancetta.
However you make this vegan Sardinian fregola with chickpeas, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it is classic Italian comfort food!
If you do try this recipe, I’d love to hear what you think. Please, write a comment here on the blog or post a comment on the Pasta Project Facebook page.
Your feedback means a lot to me!
Buon Appetito!
Pin for later.
Sardinian fregola with chickpeas (pasta e ceci)
Ingredients
- 300 g fregola (10-11 oz) or Israeli couscous
- 350 g chickpeas (12 oz) dried, soaked and boiled or canned
- 1 onion peeled and finely chopped
- 1-2 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 1-2 celery stalks finely chopped
- 500 g tomato passata (17floz)
- 10-12 cherry tomatoes cut into halves
- 3-4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.
- 500 ml vegetable stock (16floz) cubes dissolved in water or homemade stock.
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- 1 handful fresh parsley chopped
- ½ fresh peperoncino (red chili pepper) chopped (optional) or red chili flakes
Instructions
If using dried chickpeas
- Put the dried chickpeas to soak in water overnight. In the morning, drain the chickpeas and cover with fresh water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until ready about 1 hour depending on the size and age of the chickpeas. You can also cook the chickpeas in the pressure cooker for about 20 minutes. Once cooked drain the chickpeas.
Make the soup
- Chop the peeled onion, peeled garlic and celery finely and sauté together in a pan with extra virgin olive oil and the chopped peperoncino for about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes till they start to soften. Add the tomato passata, season with salt and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add a little stock and the fregola and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring to combine.
- Cook everything together slowly for 15-20 minutes stirring all the time and adding the stock little by little. (The same way as making risotto).
- Once the fregola is just about al dente, add the drained cooked chickpeas to the sauce. (or rinsed canned chickpeas). Cook until the chickpeas are heated through. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.
- Serve immediately with more chopped parsley and some crusty bread.
Notes
Nutrition
More Sardinian fregola recipes here on The Pasta Project.
If you are interested in learning how to make homemade pasta and different types of gnocchi, check out my shop page for some great video online courses from my friends in Rome! Nothing beats learning to make pasta from Italians! Plus while you’re there why not order a copy of one of my pasta recipe cookbooks or checkout some recommended pasta making tools? They make great prezzies for pasta lovers!
Mary Kovoor says
Delicious and easy! I didn’t have celery so used carrots… might even be ok with frozen peas and carrots. Added some grated parm too. Delicious, warm- loved it and will definitely make it again. Luckily I had fregola and it worked beautifully with this “risotto” technique.
michele says
Thank you for your suggestions on the pancetta Jacqui. I fried little cubes separately in olive oil, and served as a garnish, very crispy and yummy. This pasta is quite easy to make, and delicious. I stirred in very thin strips of kale right at the end, and served more as an additional garnish. The toasted fregola had a very nice texture. I had planned this as a cold winter night dinner, but it was unseasonably very warm, up to 15C yesterday. The pasta was of course still lovely, and much appreciated by my family for a simple and nutritious dinner.
Michele says
I am assuming that I can use toasted fregola as well as untoasted. I am wondering at what point I should add the pancetta or guanciale (I have some of both I need to use up!). Should I it cut into small cubes and fry separately till crispy, adding at the end, or should I sauté with the veggies? I plan on making this next week, good winter food!
Thank you.
Jacqui says
Hi Michele, thank you for your comment. I would fry the guanciale or pancetta separately and then add towards the end or sprinkle on top before serving. Guanciale is fatty and it's better to allow it to render the fat before adding. Do let me know how it turns out.
Andrew says
I made this tonight and it is very good, I will be making it again!
I used Israeli couscous since I couldn't find fregola, and went with fresh rosemary instead of peperoncino since I had some rosemary leftover. The risotto-stirring stage went more quickly than predicted, making the overall time estimate almost spot-on. I look forward to trying the other alterations you suggested as well!
Tammy says
I've never had fregola before but what a comforting and beautiful dish. Truly perfect throughout the winter season and good for you too!
Lisa says
This dish reminds me of my childhood. We would eat pasta with chickpeas all the time. Great comfort food!
Lauren Michael Harris says
Chickpeas are one of my favorite foods - loved trying this new way of enjoying them. I'll definitely make this again- great flavor!
Kathryn says
This soup is so delicious and I love how it's nutritious too! Perfect for fall and winter nights. We ate this all so I need to make it again asap!
Cathleen says
I have a whole bunch of chickpeas in my pantry so I am so excited to make this! Thanks so much for this recipe, pinned to make later 🙂
Jessica says
I'm always looking for recipes with chickpeas! How interesting they were cultivated in Sardinia, never would have guessed. This dish looks tasty and nutritious, can't wait to try it!!
Bernice says
This looks like such a comforting bowl...and I think you're right. No one a few generations back ever thought about how healthy their food was. They just ate what was available. Sure, there was sugar back then and baking but no processed crap. Only the good stuff like chickpeas and fregola!
Veronika says
This recipe is amazing! I made it yesterday and my whole family loved it! So easy to make and very delicious 😉
Marta says
Oddly enough, I had a ton of fregola and chickpeas so I made this recipe and I couldn't have loved it more. It was so easy to make and full of flavor!
Elaine says
This is such a comforting dish. I think I would really like adding spinach to it (great suggestion), as that would make it perfect for me. Can't wait to try it.
Lathiya says
I haven't heard Fregola before and yes, I love chickpeas and the dishes with it. This looks delicious.
Jenni LeBaron says
I've never worked with fregola before, but I love the look of this dish! I also really appreciate that there is a bunch of different textures in this dish (especially the chickpeas) to keep it hearty and interesting.
The Pasta Project says
Thank you, Jenni. It is really hearty. I love the texture of the chickpeas and the fregola.