Italian
Pasta with Chickpeas, Mussels and Pecorino Cheese
by Manu Food · 60K subscribers on YouTube
A creamy and flavorful pasta dish that combines chickpeas, mussels, and Pecorino cheese, with a secret technique for extra creaminess.
- Difficulty
- medium
Ingredients
12 items- Mussels
- Ceci lessatiHalf for cream, half whole
- Basil
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- WaterFor blending, steaming, and cooking
- Garlic1 clove
- White WineA splash
- Yellow Cherry TomatoesYellow cherry tomatoes, halved
- Grated PecorinoGrated, to taste
- PastaAny short pasta (e.g., mezze maniche, ditalini)
Method
- In a pan, add a little water and the cleaned mussels. Cover and cook until they open.
- Let them cool slightly, shell the mussels, and strain the cooking water through a fine sieve.
- Prepare the chickpea cream: blend half of the cooked chickpeas with basil, olive oil, salt, and pepper, adding a bit of water until smooth and creamy.
- In a pot, heat a drizzle of olive oil and sauté a crushed garlic clove. When golden, remove the garlic, then add half of the mussels and deglaze with white wine.
- Add halved yellow cherry tomatoes, the chickpea cream, and the remaining whole chickpeas.
- Add the strained mussel water and bring to a boil.
- Add the pasta and cook, gradually adding boiling water (not cold). Season with salt.
- Add the remaining mussels, basil, and pepper. Off the heat, toss with grated Pecorino cheese until creamy.
