Minestra di Pasta e Ceci

This is one of the oldest (some say Ancient Roman) soup recipes, still cooked and served like this in many a downtown Roman trattoria! If you find the anchovy and/or chile not to your taste, simply leave them out altogether. You can also use dried chickpeas as an alternative, but they will need to soak for a long time in several changes of cold, fresh water to avoid fermentation. When I use dried chickpeas I soak them for about 24 hours and change the water four or five times.