Culinaria Italia - Italian Food and Cooking

Minestra di ceci from Matera. A few weeks ago some friends and I visited the beautiful town of Matera in Basilicata. After a very pleasant morning sightseeing we visited a restaurant that had been recommended in the ‘Slow Food’ guide - ‘Le Botteghe’ in Piazza San Pietro Barisano. Wonderful simple food. This is my attempt to recreate one of their specialities.

 To see a slideshow of our visit click here.

250g dried chickpeas — soaked overnight
150g fresh tagliatelle — cut into 5cm lengths
30g smoked pancetta — cubed
2 cloves garlic
1 sprig rosemary
olive oil
salt and pepper

• Fry the pancetta and garlic cloves in a little olive oil for a few minutes.
• Add the chickpeas together with a litre of water and bring to the boil.
• Add the rosemary, cover and cook over a moderate heat for around 2 hours.
• Remove the rosemary and season with salt and pepper.
• Add the taglietelle and cook for a further few minutes.
• This dish is sometimes served topped with fried bread crumbs.

Variation: When the chickpeas are cooked remove half the chickpeas, liquidize them and return them to the soup.