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1
Start heating 6 quarts of water with 1 tablespoon of salt in a large pot.
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2
(If it comes to a rolling boil while you are cooking the dressing, you can drop in the gramigna to cook at the same time or wait until youve added the spinach, as described below.)
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3
Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil into the skillet, and set over medium-high heat.
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4
Strew the garlic slices in the oil, and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring.
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5
Scatter the pancetta or bacon strips in the pan, stir, and cook for 3 minutes or so, to render their fat.
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6
(If the pork is very lean and releases little fat, add more olive oil to the skillet.)
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7
Sprinkle in the peperoncino.
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8
When the pancetta is sizzling, dump in the chickpeas.
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9
Stir and toss them for a minute or so, then scatter the spinach leaves on top.
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10
Turn and toss as the leaves wilt in the heat.
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11
Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt; ladle about 1/2 cup of boiling pasta water into the pan, and simmer the beans and greens for a couple of minutes.
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12
If the gramigna are not already cooking, turn off the heat and cover the skillet to keep the dressing hot until the pasta is ready.
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13
Boil the gramigna until al dente, lift the pasta from the pot, drain briefly, and drop into the skillet of ceci and spinach, which should be simmering.
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14
Toss together for a minute or two, or longer if necessary, until the gramigna are amalgamated with the dressing.
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15
If the dish is dry, ladle in a bit of hot pasta water from the cooking pot.
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16
If theres too much liquid, reduce by tossing rapidly over high heat.
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17
Take the skillet off the heat, toss the pecorino in, and drizzle a final flourish of olive oil over the gramigna.
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18
Serve right away.
