Serra De’ Conti cicerchia pea

This wild pea was grown in amongst the corn with beans and chickpeas. It is a small, spiky shaped variety, with colours ranging from grey to spotted brown. Its tender hull and delicate flavour make it perfect for soups or salads, as a side dish with salt-dried cod or pureed to serve with cotechino pork sausage.

Serra De’ Conti Ancona

Serra De’ Conti

The large cicerchia pea is grown in the hills around Serra De’ Conti, a town in the Marche region on the saddle between the Misa and the Esino valleys, in the lands of the castles of Jesi, where the famous Verdicchio white wine is produced.

Tagliatelle pasta with cicerchia peas

Ingredients

  • 50 g of oil
  • 1 onion
  • 300 g of boiled wild cicerchia peas,
  • For the tagliatelle:
  • 600 g of durum wheat flour
  • 1 egg

Method

Make the tagliatelle: pour the flour onto a table or board and break an egg into the centre; add hot water a little at a time and mix until it forms a smooth, firm dough. Roll out the dough until it is a thin rectangle, then cut it horizontally into lots of strips (not too wide); cut these again into average length vertical strips (4-5 cm).

Cook the tagliatelle for 5 minutes in boiling, salted water, drain, place the pasta in a bowl then add the drained, rinsed and boiled cicerchia peas. While the pasta is cooking, sauté the chilli pepper and the onion and add to the bowl. Toss everything together well and serve hot.