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coarse sea salt extra-virgin olive oil garlic bacon peperoncino flakes chickpeas tender spinach leaves gramigna pasta skillet
Viewed: 44 - Published at: 7 years agoIngredients
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt, plus 1 tablespoon for the pasta pot
- 3 to 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 4 ounces pancetta or bacon, cut in matchstick strips
- 1/2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas, or 1-pound can ceci, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups tender spinach leaves, rinsed and trimmed
- 1 pound gramigna pasta
- 1 cup freshly grated authentic Italian pecorino
- A heavy-bottomed skillet or saute pan, 12-inch diameter or larger
Method
- Start heating 6 quarts of water with 1 tablespoon of salt in a large pot.
- (If it comes to a rolling boil while you are cooking the dressing, you can drop in the gramigna to cook at the same time or wait until youve added the spinach, as described below.)
- Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil into the skillet, and set over medium-high heat.
- Strew the garlic slices in the oil, and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring.
- Scatter the pancetta or bacon strips in the pan, stir, and cook for 3 minutes or so, to render their fat.
- (If the pork is very lean and releases little fat, add more olive oil to the skillet.)
- Sprinkle in the peperoncino.
- When the pancetta is sizzling, dump in the chickpeas.
- Stir and toss them for a minute or so, then scatter the spinach leaves on top.
- Turn and toss as the leaves wilt in the heat.
- Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt; ladle about 1/2 cup of boiling pasta water into the pan, and simmer the beans and greens for a couple of minutes.
- If the gramigna are not already cooking, turn off the heat and cover the skillet to keep the dressing hot until the pasta is ready.
- Boil the gramigna until al dente, lift the pasta from the pot, drain briefly, and drop into the skillet of ceci and spinach, which should be simmering.
- Toss together for a minute or two, or longer if necessary, until the gramigna are amalgamated with the dressing.
- If the dish is dry, ladle in a bit of hot pasta water from the cooking pot.
- If theres too much liquid, reduce by tossing rapidly over high heat.
- Take the skillet off the heat, toss the pecorino in, and drizzle a final flourish of olive oil over the gramigna.
- Serve right away.
