Hello from Tuscany! Today is my last day in this beautiful region, so I decided to make the most of the kitchen at our Tuscany Now holiday villa by preparing a chickpea cake.
Cecina, also known as farinata and socca, is a typical food of the coastal areas of Liguria and Tuscany in Italy, as well as Côte d’Azur in France. It’s simple food, used as an alternative to bread, and prepared with just chickpea flour, water, oil and salt.
I adapted a recipe from Jul’s Kitchen, the go-to food blog if you are looking for authentic Tuscan recipes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Mix the water and the chickpea flour, stirring constantly with a whisk to prevent lumps.
When these ingredients are completely mixed, add the oil and salt.
Let the batter rest for at least half an hour (longer if you can).
Heat the oven to 250 °C (480 °F). Grease with oil a 20cm x 40 cm baking tray and pour in the batter into a very thin layer, up to 3 or 4 mm.
Bake the chickpea cake for about 15/20 minutes, until crisp on the surface and soft inside.
Serve hot with olive oil and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.