Chickpea porridge

Here is the recipe for Genoese chickpea flour, an excellent product of the Italian tradition and typical Ligurian street food.

Today we prepare a fantastic Genoese chickpea porridge, a typical dish of the region that has been eaten since ancient times . This sort of very low savory pie is prepared with chickpea flour and water: it is a poor recipe that has become widespread over the years, until it has become a real specialty . In other regions you can also hear it called by the name of cecina , faina or fainè and esplanade of chickpeas.

Let's immediately see the recipe for this sort of chickpea cake, to be prepared comfortably in our home oven and to be served as a side dish both freshly baked and cold, or enjoyed for a light lunch . Ready? Street!

How to make chickpea flour: original recipe

1. Take a bowl and pour the chickpea flour, or place it on your work surface. In any case, make the typical fountain shape, then start pouring the water gradually, mixing well and trying not to let lumps form inside the mixture.
2. When you have perfectly mixed the two elements, let the dough rest for 5 to 10 hours.
3. Take it back and eliminate the foam that will form on the surface, then go and flavor with salt and oil. Re-mix everything by hand and then proceed with cooking.
4. Grease some baking trays (preferably circular ones), place the mixture inside, distributing it evenly and cook at 220°C for about half an hour in a preheated oven.
5. If you want, before cooking it, you can also put rosemary on the surface. Once the cecina recipe is ready, serve it with freshly ground pepper . Enjoy your meal!

Chickpea flour: history and variations

Everyone in Genoa knows it: this preparation probably originates in Ancient Rome or even Ancient Greece. It is said that it arrived in the Ligurian capital during the period of the Maritime Republics , in the thirteenth century.

History and legend come together in a singular anecdote which tells that the sailors, given the scarcity of provisions at sea, prepared mixtures of chickpeas and oil and left them in the sun to dry to obtain a better flavour. Once on the ground, then, they continued to make it.

Although the most popular is the Ligurian one, there are variations throughout Italy, cecina, socca, fainè: the recipe is always the same, but the place of origin varies. Then there are actually variations ranging from the cooking of the porridge to the rest time.

In fact, you can prepare chickpea porridge in a pan, just grease the pan with extra virgin olive oil and cook the porridge for two minutes on each side, not forgetting to close tightly with the lid . Not only that, it is possible to make a homemade chickpea porridge without rest, even if we want to warn you: the chickpea porridge without rest is much heavier than the classic one although, you can be sure, it will be ready in 5 minutes. To prepare it, use the classic recipe but omit the rest part and cook it directly .

If you liked it , try the other recipes with chickpea flour and recipes with chickpeas that we have prepared for you!

storage

Baked chickpea porridge, as well as pan-fried chickpea porridge, can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days , well covered in transparent film. We do not recommend freezing in the freezer.

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