A poor dough that becomes crunchy gold: we are talking about a very good Ligurian dish: chickpea farinata.
The chickpea porridge between history and legend
🛡️Alcuni tales trace this dish as far back as Roman times, when soldiers cooked chickpea and water doughs in the sun, using their shields as pans! It may not have been hygienic, but back then there was little formality.
⚓Another legend tells instead that in the midst of a storm, after Genoa’s naval victory over Pisa, several barrels of chickpeas and oil toppled over and crushed mixing with seawater. The sailors, in order not to waste anything, let the mixture dry in the sun. Once ashore they thought it best to perfect the recipe, baking it in ovens. Thus chickpea porridge was born.
Legend or not, as it turns out, chickpea farinata originated in Liguria, in Genoa, but then traveled through time and space: you can also find it in Tuscany (as cecìna), Piedmont, Sardinia, and even Corsica and the south of France, which is adjacent to Liguria(socca di Nizza).
How to make chickpea porridge
🥄 Here is the traditional Ligurian recipe:
Ingredients (for a baking dish about 30 cm in diameter):
- 300 g of chickpea flour
- 900 ml of water
- 120 ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 10 g of fine salt
- black pepper (optional)
Procedure:
- Mix the chickpea flour with water in a large bowl, using a whisk to avoid lumps.
- Let the mixture sit covered for at least 6 hours (overnight, even better), stirring occasionally and removing any foam on the surface.
- Add oil and salt, mix well.
- Pour the mixture into a round baking dish greased with oil.
- Bake in a 250°C static oven for 10 minutes at the bottom, then move to the center and bake another 10 minutes, until you see the surface turn golden and crisp.
Well, it’s time to share a tasty slice and a matching glass of wine with your guests. Which wine?
🥂 We suggest the Riesling Renano Essenza, so intense with its herbal scent that goes well with the flavor of the farinata (not coincidentally, a variation of this dish is with added rosemary needles).
