Luisa's Ceci, Shabby - Chic

"Ceci," as you know, is the humble chick pea. "Shabby Chic," as you may remember is the charming combination of high fashion with low fashion (very low) and was all the rage in New York for about one year in the late 1990's. Think Gucci with Salvation Army accessories. Well here it is - Luisa's haute cuisine (Truffle Paste) with low cuisine (Ceci). A perfect antipasto, especially with champagne.

What you need:

Pot, two bowls and a couple of forks.
Cup or two of dried ceci
Good olive oil, preferably the new stuff
Black truffle paste

First, any deli in Italy worth its weight will have a small jar of black truffle paste. Dried chick peas can be found anywhere, and we all know that olive oil is in more abundance than motor oil in this country. So you're set.

Overnight reconstitute the dried ceci in a bunch of water (24 hours is good). Boil the ceci on a low boil for 30 minutes and simmer for another 20. You do not want to overcook these, that would not be chic. Drain, add to a big bowl and poor liberally with the oil over the top. Serve on the side the jar of truffle paste and more oil, always more oil. It takes very very little truffle paste for each individual serving, about 1/8-1/4 teaspoon or the end of a fork, to provide that unique flavor without overwhelming the ceci and oil. Luisa likes to mash the ceci in her serving so the oil absorbs into the paste a bit...we think this is a little too shabby a behavior, but it tastes great.