Farinata di ceci, the traditional Ligurian savory pie

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

Today we prepare a fantastic Genoese chickpea farinata, a typical dish of the region and which has been consumed since ancient times . This sort of very low savory pie is prepared with chickpea flour and water: it is a poor recipe that has spread over the years, becoming a real specialty . In other regions you can also hear it called by the name of cecina , beech marten or fainè and spianata di ceci.

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 fresh from the oven and cold, or enjoy it for a light lunch . Are you ready? Street!

How to make chickpea porridge: original recipe

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

Chickpea porridge: history and variants

Everyone in Genoa knows it: this preparation probably originates in Ancient Rome or even in 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 that says that the sailors, given the scarcity of supplies at sea, prepared some mixtures of chickpeas and oil and left them in the sun to dry to get a better flavor. Once on the ground, then, they continued making 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 changes. Then there are actually variations ranging from cooking the farinata to the resting time.

In fact, you can prepare the chickpea porridge in a pan, just grease the pan with extra virgin olive oil and cook the porridge for two minutes per side, not forgetting to close the lid tightly . Not only that, it is possible to make a homemade chickpea porridge without rest, even if we want to warn you: the pea pea porridge 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 , also try the other chickpea flour recipes and chickpea recipes we have prepared for you!

storage

Baked chickpea porridge, as well as that in a pan, can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days , well covered with cling film. We do not recommend freezing in the freezer.