I’ve adapted this Canal House recipe with a second application of garlic. I first coax sweetness out of thinly sliced garlic by sauteing it in olive oil before adding minced garlic to a quick sauce that lets it sing. I like orecchiette pasta in this dish because it cups the chickpeas nicely, but medium shells will also do the trick.
Serves 4
Salt
12 ounces orecchiette
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
Olive oil
4 garlic cloves, 2 thinly sliced, 2 finely minced
5 anchovy fillets, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Large pinch of red chile pepper flakes
1 (15-ounce can) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add the pasta. While the pasta cooks to al dente, make the sauce.
Place a skillet big enough to hold all of the ingredients over medium heat, melt the butter and add the bread crumbs. Stir to moisten crumbs with fat and cook, stirring, until the crumbs are golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl to cool. Reserve.
Wipe out the skillet. Add olive oil and the sliced garlic to the skillet. Warm over medium heat and cook until the slices just start to turn brown, 2-3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the toasted garlic from the pan. Add the anchovies, minced garlic, tomato paste and hot pepper flakes. Stir, cooking until the garlic is fragrant and the anchovies have dissolved, about 2 minutes. Add the chickpeas and coat with the oil. Season with salt.
When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid before draining pasta. Add the drained pasta and the reserved cooking water to the skillet. Turn the heat to medium high and cook until the sauce thickens to coat the pasta, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the reserved toasted bread crumbs, parsley and garlic chips over the pasta and serve.
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