Bursting tomato, chickpea and cheat's burrata pasta

Stanley Tucci was the one that introduced me to the idea of adding pulses to pasta and I love this combination so much

Cheat’s burrata has to be one of my most used little kitchen tips. Burrata is really expensive and increasingly hard to get hold of. So never fear! I’ve got such a simple way to transform even the most miserable mozzarella into something spectacularly delicious in mere moments.

Stanley Tucci told me on his episode of Desert Island Dishes (if you haven’t listened yet, you should, he’s amazing! You can listen here) about the dish he eats the most often and it was his version of Pasta Fagioli. A rich tomato sauce with beans and kale. Ever since he told me about it, I make it all the time. The recipe is here.

This is a very quick and simplified version of that I suppose in a way. Something about the combination of pasta and pulses just works so well and this is something i find myself making time and again.

You can of course use any pasta shape for this but I love the shape of trofie. Tight gorgeous little corkscrews that just look so pretty with the contrast of the chickpeas. And that might sound silly but the appearance of what you’re making truly does matter. We eat with out eyes, so even if you’re just cooking for yourself I think it’s nice to take a little care over the presentation and make it look as pretty as possible. A scattering of chopped herbs can brighten the dullest of dishes, a lovely serving plate or a drizzle of olive oil or a lemon wedge are very easy ways to make things pop. I really think these things are important, or at least they are to me! You’ve taken the time to make something, just spend 20 more seconds making it look lovely and suddenly it will seem 10x more delicious.

To serve 2 you will need: