Cecina

Cecina is a  very simple delicious tuscan dish.  My mother used to make this for me when I was younger and I have always loved it. I didn’t make it as delicious but it is still very tasty.  Cecina is very thin and I would describe it as a chickpea flat bread. ‘Ceci” in Italian means chickpeas. It really is an easy recipe. All you need is chickpea flour, water, olive oil, salt and pepper. Chickpeas are high in protein so excellent for vegans, or for anyone who wants to take a break from meat and incorporate more plant based dishes into their diet.

Ingredients:

100g chickpea flour

300ml water

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Himalayan salt and pepper

Optional

rosemary

Place the flour into a bowl and pour the water in slowly, stirring all the time. After you have poured all the water cover the bowl and leave to rest for 30 minutes minumum. You can leave it for 3-4 hours. Apparently the longer you leave it the better. I have never left it for that long. I usually leave it for 30-40 minutes. Do not worry about lumps as these will dissolve as the mixture rests. Once it is ready add the oil and a generous pinch of salt. Cecina is supposed to be tasty. It also has to be thin, not more than 1/2cm thick. Therefore best to be poured into a thin dish, a pizza dish is fine or a square one will also do. Just make sure to grease it with olive oil then place into a warm oven at 250C. Every oven is different so cooking times will vary. It should take between 15-30 minutes to cook. When a golden crust forms it is ready. I leave it in the oven slightly longer as I prefer it crunchy. The inside however will remain soft. Once ready season with black pepper, slice and serve warm. Enjoy!