Quick Recipe: Spring into Summer with Italy’s Farinata di Ceci

Farinata di Ceci (roughly translated as “Chickpea flour thing”) is a flat, crispy street food, traditionally baked in the same sort of wood oven used to make pizza. This deliciously simple treat is a speciality from a pine-green jewel in Italy’s stunning crown: the tiny region of Liguria. For me, this nutty, richly flavoured snack brings back memories of lazy beach days, long swims in the Tyrrhenian Sea, long hikes through pine forests along the rugged coastline, and spectacular views of sea blue from olive groves high in the Apennines. I love this on weekends, especially when I want a salty treat on Sundays. Made from the simplest ingredients – chickpea flour, water, salt and olive oil – this has got to be one of the most extraordinary examples of perfection in simplicity. Of course, for me the is also amazing because it’s sattvic, vegan, high in protein, and easy to make. As I said: Perfection for a yogi/ballerina

Ingredients for 3 trays of a 32 cm diameter

or two large rectangular trays.

Water: 900 ml

Chickpea flour: 300 g

Olive oil: 50 g

a few pinches of salt

pepper and salt to sprinkle over the top after baking

olive oil for the bottom of the pan

Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and slowly add the water, mixing as you go so it doesn’t form lumps, and mix well till you get a liquid batter

Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge for at least 4 or 5 hours. Overnight is even better!

Remove the foam on the top and mix in the olive oil and salt

Cover the baking tin with oven paper and spread olive oil over it lightly

Pour the batter into the tin and spread it out, it should be no more than 1/2 cm thick

Place the tin at the bottom of a pre-heated oven at 250°C (VERY HOT, so pre-heat it at least 10 minutes), and bake for 10 minutes. If you have a ventilated oven, then 220 °C is hot enough

Then, move the tray to the higher part of the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes till the top of the farinata is golden brown

Remove it from the oven and sprinkle with salt and pepper

Cut into slices and serve warm (wait about 5 minutes before you eat it to give the farinata time to settle a bit, it will be quite soft when you remove it from the oven, but then after 5 minutes it gets more crispy)

(You can also sprinkle the top with grated parmesan cheese or gorgonzola if you wish )

ENJOY!