We had the most transcendent experience eating this simple, Italian peasant soup during our retreat in Abruzzo this past fall. We had just returned to our b&b from a beautiful mountain hike, where we foraged rosehips and mint, and everyone was very ready for lunch after that good dose of exercise and fresh air. Our hosts at the bed and breakfast served a homemade pasta e ceci (pasta and chickpea soup), and it really hit the spot with its coziness and simplicity.
There are still spots open for our retreat in Abruzzo this coming October! You can read all about our past retreat here, complete with photos and testimonials. This time around, we will be focusing on re-centering and relaxation, together with exploring beautiful Abruzzo. We are super excited to have an on-site yoga/meditation instructor and an on-site acupuncture physician, both offering daily services. There will be lots of fun and useful cooking workshops with us, as well as visits to an olive grove, winery, and a family truffle plantation. You can see our whole sample itinerary below, and book here!
Click Here to book a spot at the retreat!
Abruzzo 2019 Retreat Sample Itinerary
*details are subject to change / all meals are vegan with a vegetarian option
DAY 1
– Pick up in Rome at 1:30 PM, Piazza Bologna
– Drive to Abruzzo
– Unpack and relax
– Aperitif and dinner prepared by the Golubka Kitchen team
DAY 2
– Morning yoga and meditation with our on-site certified yoga instructor
– Breakfast prepared by the Golubka Kitchen team, with superfood latte/smoothie demonstration (different recipe every day)
– Diagnostic consultations, facial and/or body gua sha massage, and acupressure with our on-site Acupuncture Physician (1 individual appointment included in the cost of the retreat, additional charge for all follow-up appointments)
– Lunch prepared by the Golubka Kitchen team
– Time to relax, forest bathe, and hike the grounds after gua sha/acupressure appointments
– Dinner at a local restaurant
– Optional evening meditation
DAY 3
– Morning yoga and singing bowl meditation
– Breakfast prepared by the Golubka Kitchen team, with superfood latte/smoothie demonstration
– Diagnostic consultations, facial and/or body gua sha massage, and acupressure with our on-site Acupuncture Physician (1 individual appointment included in the cost of the retreat, additional charge for all follow-up appointments)
– Lunch prepared by the Golubka Kitchen team
– Foraging walk to gather herbs + medicinal jam and herbal tea workshop with the Golubka Kitchen team
– Dinner prepared by the Golubka Kitchen team
– Optional evening meditation
DAY 4
– Morning yoga + sun gazing/A.M. sun therapy
– Breakfast prepared by the Golubka Kitchen team, with superfood latte/smoothie demonstration
– Visit to an olive grove with 600 year old trees + meditation and grounding in the orchard
– Sample olive oil made with the olives from the grove + light picnic-style lunch
– Plant-based cooking & meal planning workshop with the Golubka Kitchen team
– Dinner
– Optional evening meditation
* Option to bypass any of the P.M. activities for an additional gua sha massage/acupressure appointment with our on-site Acupuncture Physician (at additional cost).
DAY 5
– Morning yoga and singing bowl meditation
– Breakfast prepared by the Golubka Kitchen team, with superfood latte/smoothie demonstration
– Truffle hunting in Villa Santa Lucia
– Truffle lunch in a locals’ home
– Pasta-making workshop with an Abruzzo local + vegan cheese workshop with Golubka Kitchen
– Pasta and vegan cheese dinner
– Optional evening meditation
* Option to bypass any of the P.M. activities for an additional gua sha massage/acupressure appointment with our on-site Acupuncture Physician (at additional cost).
DAY 6
– Morning yoga and meditation
– Breakfast prepared by the Golubka Kitchen team, with superfood latte/smoothie demonstration
– Visit a 200-year-old family-run winery + wine tasting and light lunch
– Magic Moisturizer + homemade skincare workshop with the Golubka Kitchen team
– Goodbye dinner at a local restaurant
– Optional evening meditation
* Option to bypass any of the P.M. activities for an additional gua sha massage/acupressure appointment with our on-site Acupuncture Physician (at additional cost).
DAY 7
– Breakfast
– Head back to Piazza Bologna in Rome (12:30 PM drop-off)
Click Here to book a spot at the retreat!
Let’s talk more about the soup! Pasta e Ceci is not a strictly Abruzzese dish, it’s made all over Italy, in slightly different variations. This recipe is inspired by the Abruzzo version. This soup completely blew us away with its ratio of simplicity to flavor. All the ingredients are very, very modest.
You start out by making a good broth, with chickpeas and some aromatics. Then while the broth simmers, you make a very rustic, eggless pasta dough, which is then cut into short, flat noodles, called sagne pasta. The pasta then gets cooked right in the chickpea broth, and everything is served as a chunky soup, with plenty of olive oil and some spicy red pepper on top. There’s also an ingenious, crispy element that helps switch up the textures in the soup. Some of the fresh pasta gets toasted on a dry skillet, until it turns into crispy strips, that are then used to garnish every plate. It is so good.
This is a great time to say that you can totally use store-bought pasta here! The eggless sagne pasta is easy to make, but it’s still much more of a project than just opening up a package and being ready to go (just skip the crispy pasta element). If you’re ever craving something resembling chicken soup from your childhood, this is a great, vegan version that still hits all of those comfort notes. Enjoy!
- 1 cup chickpeas - soaked overnight in purified water, with a splash of apple cider vinegar
- 2 ribs celery - sliced in half
- 1 yellow onion - quartered, skin on
- 2 cloves garlic - smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 cups water
- sea salt
- black pepper
- 2 medium carrots - grated
- red pepper flakes - to taste
- handful chopped parsley - for garnish
- olive oil - for garnish
- fresh sagne pasta (recipe below) or about 12 oz dried store-bought pasta
- 1½ cups spelt, whole wheat, or sprouted spelt/wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup purified warm water, plus more as needed
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. In a large soup pot, combine the chickpeas, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and water. Bring up to a boil over high heat. Turn down the heat and simmer, covered, or until the chickpeas are cooked and tender (this might take up to an hour or even longer for older chickpeas). Make the pasta while the broth is cooking. Salt the broth well at the end. Remove the aromatics (celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves) with a slotted spoon and discard.
- Add black pepper to taste to the broth, along with the carrots and red pepper flakes. Bring everything up to a boil, then simmer for 10 more minutes, or until the carrots are cooked through. Meanwhile, heat a dry pan over medium-high heat. Add ¼ of the amount of the pasta to the pan and toast, stirring often, until the pasta becomes crispy. Use the crispy pasta to garnish the soup.
- Bring the soup back up to a boil, add in the rest of the pasta (recipe below) and cook for 30 seconds to 2 minutes, until al dente. Taste for salt and adjust if needed. Serve the soup, topped with crispy sagne pasta, parsley, and a drizzle of olive oil. If using dried store-bought pasta, cook it into the soup until al dente, and skip the crispy pasta step.
- Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl with a fork. Make a well in the center and pour in the oil and water. Begin to mix with a fork, slowly incorporating the flour into the well of oil and water. When all the flour is mixed in, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead it for 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. All flour takes on water differently, so add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if your dough seems dry. It should feel smooth, but not too wet, with no cracking. Form a ball with the dough and tightly wrap it in plastic wrap, or cover with a damp kitchen towel in the bowl. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Place the dough back on the well-floured work surface and knead it for another 10 minutes, until even more springy. Cut the dough in half and keep one half covered with a damp kitchen towel while you roll out the pasta.
- Keep your working surface well-floured. Roll one piece of dough at a time into a paper-thin sheet. Cut the rolled-out dough into the sagne pasta shape, about 1½" x ¼", using a pizza cutter or a knife. Transfer the pasta to a parchment-covered tray, sprinkled with plenty of flour to prevent sticking. Continue rolling out and cutting the rest of the dough.
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