It’s World Pulses Day today when the UN celebrates legumes and their importance in our future and being able to feed the world. Boiled, roasted, or ground into gluten-free flour they are always delicious and so diverse.

When in Abruzzo expect to see and sample and a riot of colour, assorted thick and thin skins outside the traditional fava bean (broad beans), tender DOP Navelli chickpeas as well as black chickpeas, lentils, minute Santo Stefano di Sessanio DOP lentils, Tondino del tavo, Paganica’s Fagiolo ad olio and Fagiolo a pisello, San Gregorio the multi-coloured wild peas, Papa fagioli the list goes on and on and you are guaranteed to have fun at the market looking at all the types throughout the year.

This is my winter Gran Sasso version of my friend Anna’s farinata recipe. It is a chickpea flour flatbread that is easily made from a batter. I have laced it with local peperoncino, wild chives and local mountain cumin. I only discovered local cumin after a visit to Il Mandarone which sits high above Isola Gran Sasso. Here the cook grinds 18 local Gran Sasso herbs and spices and adds them to her Strozzapetti veal mince dish. Like Thyme, there are multiple wild versions growing locally so I’ve popped them into this moreish gluten-free flatbread for a ‘local’ flavour.

Winter Farinata

Sam Dunham

A winter version of this gluten-free chickpea flatbread flavoured with Gran Sasso herbs and spices

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Total Time 30

Course Snack

Cuisine Italian

Servings

Ingredients

250 g 250g Chickpea Flour
500 ml Water
25 g Exra Virgin Olive Oil
10 g Grated Garlic
10 g Cumin
1 Small Dried Peperoncinio
5 Chive Leaves Roughly Chopped
5 g Salt

Instructions

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl until smooth.
Rest for 1 hour.
Put a tablespoon of olive oil into a baking tin. Place this in the oven at 250C (Or the highest setting possible). Heat until smoking.
Pour the batter into the pan and spread around.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Once the sides start to get crispy remove it from the oven.
Cut into slices and eat as a snack or serve with your favourite vegetables.

Keyword chickpeas, gluten/free

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Author: Sam Dunham

Sam is a very lucky midlife 'mamma' to A who is 13 and juggles working as a freelance SEO copywriter & teaches IGCSEs at Istituo Cristo Re in Rome. She is the founder of the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, co-founder of Let's Blog Abruzzo and 'English in the Woods' initiative.