How to Make Lagane Pasta with Chickpeas
Italian culinary expert, Amy Riolo, shares an ancient lagane pasta with chickpeas recipe from Italy's southern regions.
Lagane Pasta with Chickpeas. Photo Credit: Wendy Jo Peterson and Reminisce with Us.
Lagane (or laganelle) is a type of homemade pasta often paired with beans and used primarily in Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, and Puglia. Until recently, few cooks outside of these regions knew how to prepare it. At first glance, it resembles tagliatelle or fettuccine, but lagane are flatter, thinner, and of varying lengths (if you intend to serve this pasta with a traditional tomato or meat sauce, make strips a uniform 8 inches long instead).
Various types of pasta with chickpeas are famous throughout Italy. Chickpeas were once a symbol of rebirth in southern Italy and other areas of the Mediterranean. Local pastas, like cavatelli and lagane, which were prepared with whole-grain flour since the fourth century BCE in the region, were paired with chickpeas and served at harvest times. In Calabria, they are usually served on the Festa di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph’s Day), which is also Father’s Day, and celebrated on March 19 in Italy.
Lagane can be enjoyed with a simple fresh tomato sauce, meat ragù, or other legume-based sauce as well as with the chickpeas.
You can make the lagane and/or the sauce a day or up to a week ahead of time in order to pull the dish together at the last minute for an event.
Pair this dish with a bottle of Guarnaccino rosato or similar. Produced only in Basilicata, it is a muscular wine with notes of small red fruits supported by acidity and a delicate tannin content that allow the wine to age well.
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Lagane Pasta with Chickpeas
4
servings10
minutes1
hourIngredients
8 ounces 8 dried chickpeas, covered in water, soaked overnight, and drained
1 1 bay leaf
1 clove 1 garlic, peeled
3 teaspoons 3 unrefined sea salt or salt, divided
4 tablespoons 4 Amy Riolo Selections or other good-quality extra virgin olive oil
1 small 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 small 1 chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3/4 pound 3/4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
6 6 fresh basil leaves, shredded, or 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
1 1 recipe (roughly 1/2 pound) Basic Grano Duro Pasta Dough
Pecorino Crotonese, Pecorino di Moliterno, or Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated, for serving
Directions
- For the Dough
- Lightly flour your work surface and use a rolling pin to roll out the prepared dough until it is about 1/8-inch thick (or use a pasta machine as directed in the recipe — this setting is usually second to last or last depending upon your machine).
- Fold the dough over itself in equally spaced quarter-folds.
- With a sharp knife or pasta cutter, slice lengthwise strips of varying lengths, 5-6 inches long, and about 1/4-inch wide. Set aside.
- For the Chickpeas
- Place the prepared chickpeas, bay leaf, garlic clove, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, adding hot water if liquid is absorbed from chickpeas before they are tender, for 30 minutes or until very tender.
- Drain and remove the bay leaf.
- While the chickpeas are cooking,
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the onion, and sauté until soft, 3-5 minutes.
- Add the chile pepper, tomatoes, and basil or parsley.
- Stir in 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste.
- Allow to cook 5 minutes.
- Add the cooked chickpeas to the tomato mixture, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, or until chickpeas are tender.
- To Serve
- Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Season with a teaspoon of salt, add the lagane, stir, and reduce heat to medium-low.
- Allow to cook for about 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente.
- Drain the pasta, and toss it with ladles of the sauce.
- Garnish with freshly grated Pecorino cheese and serve.
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