Farinata or Cecina

I said in my previous post (yesterday) I'd tell you more about this dish, Cecina [pronounced che-chee-na], also called Farinata, Torta di Ceci, etc.
It's typical for Italian region Liguria, but it can be found elsewhere, in Tuscany for example, even in France (they call it socca).
I first heard of it from my husband when I moved to Pisa, he always talked about Cecina con la focacca, that he usually bought in a small take-away pizza place, along with a piece of pizza. You got it right, it is best when baked in a brick oven, with open fire, like pizza, but at home you do what you can, right?
The combo of Cecina and Focaccia is great and tasty, a bit heavy, as both can sometimes be soaked with oil. But it's one of those things you simply must indulge in from time to time.

The history, or legend, of this dish is interesting and probably explains how come this typical Ligurian dish is found in Tuscany as well.
The story says that the first Cecina was created as a pure case, in 1284. Genova and Pisa were two of the most important four Maritime republics , competing on military and commercial level. On their way home after a battle they won against Pisa, the Genova sailors encountered a storm during which some chickpea flour and olive oil got spillt and mixed with salty sea water. In order not to waste the precious food supplies, this mixture was gathered and let dry in the sun, and what was obtained (a kind of sundried pancakes) was given as food to sailors. The recipe was improved later, and even called "Gold from Pisa".

I really like chickpeas, it's probably one of my favourite legumes.
To find out how healthy they are added a big plus.
There are lots of things you can do with them. Most people have heard of Falafel and Hummus only, but I  suggest you check some of the chickpeas recipes here on my blog for more ideas.
Chickpeas are a helpful source of zinc, folate and protein. They are also very high in dietary fiber and hence a healthy source of carbohydrates for persons with insulin sensitivity or diabetes. Chickpeas are low in fat and most of this is polyunsaturated.
One hundred grams of mature boiled chickpeas contains 164 calories, 2.6 grams of fat (of which only 0.27 grams is saturated), 7.6 grams of dietary fiber and 8.9 grams of protein. There is also a high reported mineral content: phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc.

The story or legend of creation of this dish, however made me think of the poor, suffering population of Haiti. Ever since I saw these images I've been kind of under shock and cannot stop thinking about all the food we take for granted and all the food we waste so easily.
Keep them in your thoughts and prayers, and do more to help if you can.

CECINA or FARINATA

150 g chickpea flour
1/2 litre water
2 TBspoons EVOO
salt, peper

Mix flour and water in a bowl (I think a little bit more than 150 g of flour would be Ok). Add salt and pepper to your taste. Remove the foam that will form in surface using a slotted spoon.
The best thing is to prepare it in advance, and let it rest for 4-6 hours, or overnight (some sources say in the fridge, others at room temperature, hmmmm!?!?).
Add the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and stir well.
Oil a shallow baking dish (I used a round pizza tin). Pour enough of the chickpea mixture to get a 1 cm thick layer. The baked cecina should be 1/2 cm thick (though mine was a bit thinner). You can also sprinkle some rosemary on top before baking it.
Bake it in an oven preheated to 220°C for 20-25 minutes passing it under the oven grill for 5-10 minutes more so that it gets a nice golden crust on top.
Sprinkle with more freshly cracked pepper, cut and serve immediatelly, still warm. Once it's cold the taste and texture will change so hurry up to eat as soon as it's out of the oven.
I found the combination of a Creamy leek soup and Cecina just perfect. You can also try it with vegetables.

I ceci sono un'ottima fonte di proteine, fibre alimentari e carboidrati con basso indice glicemico. Contengono anche dei minerali come fosforo, magnesio, zinco, ferro e calcio.
E la cecina/farinata/torta di ceci la conoscete, vero?

CECINA o FARINATA

150 g farina di ceci
1/2 litro d'acqua
2 cucchiai di olio EVO
sale, pepe

In una ciotola mescolate la farina con l'acqua, facendo attenzione che non ci siano i grumi, aggiungete il sale e il pepe. Lasciate riposare per 4-6 ore o tutta la notte, togliendo la schiuma con un mestolo forato.
Unite l'olio e mescolate bene. Ungete bene con l'olio una teglia bassa (meglio se di rame o alluminio), versateci il composto, dovrebbe avere uno spessore di 1 cm, e mettete a cuocere nel forno già caldo, a 220°C per 20-25 minuti, passandola poi sotto il gril per 5-10 minuti per ottenere una crosticina dorata in superficie.
Cospargete di pepe macinato fresco e servitela subito, calda.
Io l'ho trovata ottima con la Crema di porri, ma provatela anche con le verdure fresche.

CECINA ili FARINATA
(izgovara se [čečina]

Ova vrsta tanke torte od slanutkovog brašna tipična je za talijansku pokrajinu Liguriju, ali možete je naći i u drugim dijelovima Italije, npr. u Toscani gdje sam je i ja otkrila.
Slanutak je izvrstan izvor zdravih karbohidrata (tj. karbohidrata s niskim glikemijskim indeksom koji neće naglo povećati razinu inzulina u krvi), bjelančevina i vlakana, a uz to sadrži i minerale kao što su fosfor, kalcij, magnezij, željezo i cink.
Cecina se često poslužuje uz focacciu, ali ja vam preporučam da je kušate na jednostavniji i zdraviji način, uz povrće, jer već sama sadrži sve ostalo što vam je potrebno za potpun obrok.

Sastojci:

150 g brašna od slanutka
1/2 litre vode
2 žlice maslinovog ulja
sol, papar

Pomiješajte brašno i vodu u zdjeli. Dobit ćete jako rijetku smjesu (po meni se može staviti još malo više brašna).
Umiješajte sol i papar. Ostavite da odmara na sobnoj temperaturi (4-6 sati, ili još bolje, cijelu noć).
Šupljikavom žlicom skidajte pjenu. Dodajte ulje, dobro izmiješajte.
Zagrijte pećnicu na 220°C.
Istresite smjesu u niski pleh (npr. pleh za pizzu), najbolji je bakreni ili aluminijski, podmazan uljem tako da bude u sloju debelom 1 cm i pecite 20-25 minuta, pa još 5-10 minuta pod grilom da dobije zlatnu koricu na površini.
Pospite svježe mljevenim paprom, narežite i poslužite toplo.
Odlično se slaže uz komad focaccie, uz juhe od povrća, kao što je ova Krem juha od poriluka, ili uz svježe povrće po izboru.