Ceci Pasta with Spicy Carrot Cream Sauce
Here in the GTFO Kitchen this Italian Girl loves her pasta, especially when it’s homemade pasta. Any excuse we have to eat pasta we will. It is a serious guilty pleasure of ours that we thoroughly enjoy no matter what kind it is.
Ceci means garbanzo bean in Italian and is a new thing for us here in the GTFO Kitchen. Slightly, grittier in texture with a minor different taste, we were pleasantly surprised at how well it melded with the spicy carrot cream sauce it was served with. The pasta sauce alone had more of a cheesy alfredo-esque feel and taste that was extremely enjoyable and surprisingly delicious.
It was a complete surprise that this dish would be loved so much considering a carrot sauce was the last thing on my boyfriend’s mind when I had him sit down to eat it. It was creamy, spicy, and oh so cheesy! A definite yum of a recipe in our book that we are sure to make again the next time we need a pasta fix.
Ingredients:
Ceci Pasta Ingredients
- 3/4 cup ceci flour (garbanzo bean flour)
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 extra large eggs – at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- Unbleached all-purpose flour for rolling the dough
Spicy Carrot Cream Sauce Ingredients
- 1 Bunch Carrots
- 4 Garlic Clove
- 5 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
- 1 tbsp. Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 c. Heavy Cream
- ½ c. Parmesan Cheese
- 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- Salt/Pepper
- Chive, for garnish
Directions:
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl mix together the carrots, garlic cloves, thyme, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper with 3 Tbsp. olive oil. Place ingredients on a roasting pan and roast in the oven for 45 minutes or until the carrots are soft and fully cooked.
- While the carrots are roasting make the pasta. Whisk the ceci flour and regular flour into a large bowl.
- Create a well in the middle of the flour and crack the eggs into the middle. Add the olive oil and salt.
- Use a fork to lightly whisk the eggs together in the middle of the well, and then begin mixing it all together with the flour.
- Once it’s well mixed, use your hands to knead until it forms a dough (if the mixture feels too dry, add ½ teaspoon of water at a time while kneading). Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, but not very sticky. If you find it too sticky, add another teaspoon of chickpea flour until it reaches the desired texture.
- Roll the dough into a ball and lightly flatten into a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Bring 3-quarts of water to boil in a large pot with a teaspoon of salt and a splash of olive oil.
- After letting the dough rest, cut dough into 6 equal pieces.
- Use your hands (or a rolling pin) to press one piece at a time on a floured surface until it is about ¼-inch thick, reserving the other pieces in plastic wrap under a towel.
- With a rolling pin, roll out each piece into a thin sheet, lightly dusting both sides with flour as you go. If using a pasta roller machine, send the dough through setting 7, fold it in half, then send it again. Repeat until it feeds through smooth, then reduce the thickness one stop at a time until you get to a 3 or 4 (I prefer a 4 because I like a slightly thicker noodle).
- Either by hand or using the noodle cutter attachment, cut each sheet into wide noodles and toss them with a sprinkle of flour to keep them from sticking together while you roll out the rest of the noodles. Set pasta aside.
- Remove roasting pan with carrots from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Place all ingredients, minus the thyme, in a blender 1 cup of cream. Blend together until smooth.
- Pour the mixture in a sauté pan over medium heat. When comes to almost a bowl add in the additional 1 cup of heavy cream (if you want a thicker sauce, add in ¼ cup at a time until desired thickness is achieved). Turn the heat to low and add in ¼ cup of the grated Parmesan cheese. Mix until melted (taste to see if more salt and pepper or red pepper flakes are needed). Leave on low heat until ready to mix with the fully cooked pasta.
- Drop the noodles into the boiling water and cook for up to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta in a colander and gently toss it with a bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking together.
- Mix the cooked pasta with carrot sauce and serve. Garnish with fresh chive and extra Parmesan cheese.
