The evening before, put the chickpeas in a bowl with plenty of cold water (they should soak for at least 12 hours). When it’s time to prepare the dish, strain them, put them in clean cold water with a pinch of coarse salt and 2 sprigs of rosemary, and bring to the boil over a moderate heat. They must boil for at least two hours and need to be well cooked. Leave them to cool down in their saucepan, then put ¾ of the chickpeas through a vegetable mill, adding a little of the water they were cooked in (set aside) to make sure they pass through smoothly. In a heavy-bottomed pan, sauté the peeled garlic and a sprig of rosemary in 4 tablespoons of olive oil. As soon as the garlic begins to colour, add the puréed chickpeas and 1 or 2 ladles of the water they were cooked in. To give you an idea of the quantity of liquid to add, the consistency should be thick and creamy. Clean the onion, slice it thinly and sauté it in a heavy-bottomed frying pan with 3 spoonfuls of olive oil; add the parsley, washed, dried and chopped, and the tomatoes, cut into small pieces. Season with salt and cook for about 10 minutes (this “sauce” mustn’t be watery). Tip it into the pan with the chickpea soup, stir well and continue cooking over a low heat. Bring it back to the boil, add the remaining whole chickpeas and the remaining sprig of rosemary, and season with salt to taste. Break the Manfredine into pieces and cook them in this thick soup, stirring frequently so that they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Rinse the anchovies under running water to remove all the salt, then blend them with ½ a clove of garlic and a spoonful of the soup. A couple of minutes before taking the pasta and chickpeas off the stove, stir in the blended anchovy mixture. Leave to rest for 15-20 minutes and then serve, seasoning each portion with some freshly ground pepper and at least a spoonful of olive oil.

For this recipe you can also use egg pasta pappardelle, tagliatelle, or linguine broken in pieces, mini Tubettini or other small, short pasta shapes. The addition of the tomato “sauce” and the anchovies is Stefania’s idea and makes the dish even more delicious.