• Pasta with Chickpeas
    Italian,  Pasta,  Vegetable,  Vegetarian

    Pasta e Ceci (Pasta with Chickpeas)

    We’re big fans of the ancient chickpea, that protein-packed morsel whose sweet, nutty taste stands out from other beans. And its charming round shape complements specialty pastas. So it’s no wonder that Italians created pasta e ceci (pasta with chickpeas), a beloved comfort food made in a simple, classic Italian style.   Recipephany’s Italian-in-Residence, Dan, makes the quintessential pasta e ceci using traditional ingredients and techniques. He gets so many requests for his version I’m embarrassed it has taken me so long to post it. “I love this as a pasta dish,” Dan says, “but it also doubles as a soup when you add more broth.” Both ways qualify as true Italian pasta e…

  • Walnut acorn cookies
    Cookies,  Desserts,  Vegan

    Walnut Acorn Cookies

    Walnut Acorn Cookies, tender walnut shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate and more nuts, got Gourmet magazine’s title “Best Cookie of the Year” in 2000. A favorite for Christmas cookie platters, they resemble acorns with their chocolate “cap.” We haven’t mastered the acorn shape, so ours come out oval-ish and a bit blobby. Even so, these relatively easy cookies look plenty fancy, taste rich, and make us feel like it’s a special occasion. And it turns out they’re vegan, too. We usually use only butter for shortbread cookies. But because walnuts make up a lot of the flavor here, we tried our favorite margarine, Imperial.* Its soft consistency makes it easy to blend and, in…