Pasta Salad with Chickpeas – Insalata di pasta e ceci
This is a rich and refreshing pasta salad. This is an usual summer salad which uses chickpeas, a common ingredients for soups. Here the legumes have the role to round off the flavor of the other ingredients like bacon, bell peppers, pickles and black olives.
Ingredients:
1 lb. pasta shells
1-1/3 cups chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
3-1/2 oz. bacon, better if it’s one thick slice
1 cup red bell pepper cut in small pieces
1/3 cup sliced black olives
3 Tbsp. thinly sliced pickles (without dill)
3 Tbsp. fresh chopped Italian parsley
2 Tbsp. capers
1 clove garlic
3 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
pepper
salt to taste
Instructions:
1. Prepare the pasta as directed.
2. Meanwhile cut the bacon into small pieces, fry it and then drain off the excess grease.
3. In a large bowl put the chickpeas, bacon, pickles, olives, parsley and capers.
4. In a small bowl beat the lemon juice with the oil, a pinch of salt and pepper.
5. When the pasta is ready rinse it with cold water and then drain it well.
6. Add the pasta to the bowl and mix.
7. Press down on the garlic clove to open it a bit, but not so much that it breaks into pieces. Put a toothpick through it and add it to the pasta.
8. Now add the oil mixture and combine it all well.
9. Leave it the refrigerator for an hour or so. You can prepare it one day ahead.
10. Remove the garlic before serving.
When you say, “Thinly sliced pickles (without dill)….are you saying to use a sweet pickle?
Many thanks !
@Linda, No, I don’t mean sweet pickles. In Italy we have pickles without herbs but they’re not sweetened. If you don’t find them use dill pickles in reduced proportions.