Let me start by saying cooking Italian food and posting about it on the internet is really scary. I don’t want to offend anyone and am starting to think I should have run this by some of my Italian friends before committing to doing this! I’m doing this to have fun and try new things. But if for some reason someone reads this and takes offense because I’ve bastardized a beloved dish, then let me just say in advance, you’re right, and I’m sorry!
Ok, so the route in Italy starts in the southeast (the heel of the boot), and winds its way north. Then, it runs westwardly along the northern part of the country, before heading back down to Rome.
The Stage
Stage 4 was a flat stage and likely one of the easiest stages of this year’s Giro. It had only 800 meters of climbing across the 189 km (117 mile) course. Distance-wise this is like biking from Denver, CO to Cheyanne, WY (but a whole lot flatter), or from San Francisco to Sacramento, or — for my east coast friends — from New York City to Philadelphia.
On a flat stage, despite racing for four hours or so, all the action usually comes down to the last 5-minutes. But, while watching, I was reminded of one of the things I love about watching cycling races. The passion of the cycling fans is contagious. Italian fans came out en masse to cheer on the riders. Their enthusiasm for the sport and their pride in the Giro running through their towns always makes feel so impressed and thankful to be part of a community with shared interest. And, it’s always fun to see how towns choose to commemorate the Giro, with land art, flares, balloons, flags, kites, and more!
Casper Van Uden won the stage, in a technical sprint finish, for Team Picnic PostNL, giving a much needed win to the team that has been in danger of relegation. The General Classification remains unchanged, and we likely won’t see too much movement on the GC until Friday when we get to this year’s first mountain stage.
The Dish
Ok, so the dish was a chickpea pasta topped with fried pasta bits. Apparently, it’s a classic dish from Salento, the part of Italy where the Giro finished today. Doing a chickpea pasta, that is both regionally known and honors the history and traditions of the region felt like the right move.
But talk about a time-intensive process with the most humble ingredients. It was my first time making a pasta, and this recipe was an eggless pasta which I found interesting but wasn’t too mad about during these egg-spensive times. Rolling it out took more time than I expected, as did cooking the garbanzos.
Here’s a photo of what it’s supposed to look like, because my version did not come out like this:
Reflections
Altogether, I would do a hundred things differently if I could. Not making fresh pasta from scratch for the first time in the middle of the work week when I also have a 6:30 PM gym class, would be a good start. Not making pasta from scratch in a small kitchen with limited counter space would be another. But, here we are.
I think the biggest issue with my recipe overall was that the ratio to chickpeas and pasta was slightly off. But, my shortcomings and ill-decisions aside, the dish was definitely satisfying to eat. It was filling, and I’m a huge fan of chickpeas. I think with more time to execute it properly this would a great way to have a filling meal that is extremely affordable. I paired the pasta with a Trebbiano d’Abruzzo. It’s an easy-drinking white that could easily go well with lots of different foods.
Today was humbling, but the menu for the rest of the week is definitely the type of cooking I’m more comfortable with, and I should have more time as well. Thanks for reading! Until tomorrow!