Clotilde recently prepared a risotto style pasta dish, meaning pasta that is cooked dry with a little oil, and then simmered in hot broth or water like risotto. The sauce is cooked along with the pasta, including vegetables, meats, and so on.
According to Clotilde’s research, the absorption method is actually the traditional Italian way of preparing pasta, as opposed to the modern boiling method. This makes a lot of sense, actually, considering that the first pastas were probably small, more like couscous than spaghetti. Smaller pasta is easier to cook in a small amount of water, and it’s certainly more economical (and ecological).
Clotilde’s pasta dish sounded so good, I thought I’d make one of my own. My first attempt included little broccoli florets and parmesan with small, oblong, shell pasta. It was nice, but the pasta took much longer to cook than I had anticipated, due to its dense shape. As a result, the broccoli was slightly overcooked, which is no fun at all.
So I tried again, this time with a thinner, less dense pasta—a little twist shape called trofie—which cooked faster. I threw in fennel matchsticks towards the end of cooking, resulting in crunchy vegetables and slightly chewy pasta with the delicate creaminess of risotto. My pastasotto melds chickpeas, fennel, lemon, and laguiole cheese in a light summer dish.
risotto style pasta with chickpeas, fennel, and lemon
1-2 TBS butter or olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
250 gr (8.8 oz) small, thin pasta (I used Rustichella’s trofie, tiny little pasta twists)
4-5 crumbled dried mint leaves, stems removed
hot water
3/4 454 gr (15 oz) can chickpeas (invest in a good organic brand, or pre-soak and cook your own)
3/4 large fennel, cored and sliced into matchsticks
zest and juice of a small lemon
olive oil
minced fennel fronds
crumbly cheese (I used Laguiole)
salt and pepper to taste
- Melt the butter or pour the olive oil in an enameled cast-iron pot or saute pan on medium heat.
- Add the garlic and cook until transluscent.
- Add the pasta and stir to coat with fat. Crumble in the mint leaves and stir.
- Pour in hot water to cover the pasta, and cover the pot.
- Let simmer while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Check the pasta periodically for doneness, and add more hot water if it’s still underdone and looks like it might stick.
- When the pasta is still a little chewy, add the chickpeas and stir. Cover and simmer a minute or two.
- Toss in the fennel matchsticks and stir. Season with lemon zest and lemon juice, taste as you season to make sure you don’t put in too much lemon juice.
- Turn off the flame and toss in the minced fennel fronds.
- Crumble in small bits of cheese. I used laguiole, but grated parmesan would work, and I suspect feta might as well.
- Taste and correct seasoning, drizzle with olive oil.
Serves 3
