lagane con ceci e porri
lagane with chick peas and leeks
Now’s your chance to eat a 2,000 year old pasta dish. Lagane with chickpeas and leeks is based on a recipe that’s mentioned in detail in the writings of the Latin poet Horace, who ate his pasta a very long time before there were tomatoes available as a condiment. For the historically curious : fresh pasta seems to have been originally a greco-Roman dish, ‘lagana’, which is where the modern Italian ‘lasagne’ comes from.
Variations of this chick-peas and leeks sauce can be found across the south of Italy today across Campana, Calabria and Puglia, and in fact the chick peas and leeks combination pops up in traditional recipes from many Mediterranean cultures. And there was me thinking the Welsh invented cooking with leeks. Simply fresh lasagne sheets cut into smaller squares or rectangles and served with leeks and chickpeas, my variation includes a pecorino and butter sauce base with cayenne pepper, which is probably a little more indulgent than would have been enjoyed by the Romans!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
clean and chop the leeks
cook the leeks
cut up the lasagne sheets
add chick peas to leeks
then add butter, wine
cook the pasta
combine sauce and pasta
lagane with chick peas and leeks
INGREDIENTS
FOR FOUR PEOPLE
1 large leek
2 400g tins chickpeas
1 large garlic clove
white wine to taste
approx 150g grated pecorino
4 tblspns butter
ground cayenne pepper to taste
black pepper, parmesan or pecorino, to taste
PASTA
500g fresh lasagne sheets
MANTECATURA (?)
light to moderate
METHOD
Start by chopping your leek lengthways in half, separating the leaves and thoroughly washing to get rid of any mud or farmer’s field that is still hiding away. Chop the leek really finely and crush the clove of garlic. Fry both vegetables in a little EVO and after 30 seconds or so add a splash of white wine. Cook them, adding water or more wine, and salt and pepper to taste, until the leeks are tender and most of the wine has evaporated.
Cut the shop-bought, chiller cabinet lasagne into rectangles roughly 30mm x 50mm. Add the tins of chick peas to the leeks and garlic and simmer gently until the chickpeas soften to your liking. Add butter and another splash of wine to make a sauce, together with about half the grated pecorino. Stir it all together, adding either more liquid or cheese, and cayenne pepper, to taste. Boil and cook the pasta - it’ll probbaly only take 2-3 minutes - and then transfer to the sauce wok to finish cooking, stirring everything together and serving very hot and with more pepper or cheese.
NUTRITION per serving
KCAL: 615
Fat (g): 24.7
Sat Fat (g): 12.2
Carb (g): 70.1
Sug (g): 3.2
Fibre(g): 11.2
Prot (g): 28.7
Salt (g): 1.84
