Rinse the dried chickpeas under running water and soak them in a bowl with a pinch of baking soda for 12 hours, changing the water once or twice.

Drain them and cook them in a large pot with plenty of water and a couple of bay leaves until tender.

Cook for the time indicated on the package or use a pressure cooker to reduce the time.

Once cooked, drain them, setting aside a cup of the cooking water.

Rinse the clams to remove sand and soak them in water with coarse salt for 20 minutes.

Rinse them several times, trying to rub them together without applying too much pressure to avoid breaking the shells.

When the drain water is free of grains of sand, rinse them one last time and discard any open clams.

Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan with a couple of cloves of garlic, chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon of chili pepper, and the fresh chili pepper cut into rounds.

Before it starts to sauté, add the clams, cook them for a few minutes and then add ½ glass of dry white wine.

Cover with a lid, turn occasionally and cook until the shells have opened.

Turn off the heat and move the pan away from the heat source to prevent the clams from continuing to cook.

Season with salt and pepper.

Strain the sauce through a clean tea towel and keep it aside in a bowl.

Shell most of the clams and return them to the pan, keeping about 20 with the shells.

Using a food processor or immersion blender, blend the chickpeas with the clam sauce and a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

If needed, adjust the salt and pepper.

It should result in a smooth, smooth cream, so if necessary add the chickpea cooking liquid kept aside.

Divide the chickpea cream into 6 small bowls, arrange some of the shelled clams and 4-5 with the shells in each.

Garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and the chives.