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…
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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…