La Dispensa: Chickpea Flour/Farina di Ceci
A recipe that has traveled up the coast between Italy and France. The name may change but its delicious gluten-free recipe is delicious. You can often find it in Indian shops as well, called besan.
The humble chickpea is often used in Tuscany regional cooking, frequently paired with fish and stews. I also keep a bag of chickpea flour in my pantry. We use chickpea flour, Farina di ceci, to create a baked crepe, common all along the coast from Livorno to Nice in France.
The traditional batter is made with water and chickpea flour baked in the oven in a round copper pan with a rim.
In Florence, it’s called Cecina and sold hot as an afternoon snack at bakeries, which also sell pizza by the slice.
In Livorno, it’s called Torta and sold as is, or in a panino called Cinque e Cinque ( 5e5).
It was 5 lira of torta in 5 lira of bread.
