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 pepperoncino, 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, multiple wild varieties are growing locally, so I’ve popped them into this moreish, gluten-free flatbread for a ‘local’ flavour.
Winter Farinata
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.
Author: Sam Dunham
Sam is a freelance SEO content creator and IGCSE Geography and English teacher in Rome. She also runs the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, sharing stories and insights about this captivating region. Alongside raising a teenager, Sam hosts guests at her family’s traditional home, the Little House of the Firefly in Abruzzo, offering a warm welcome and insider tips on local culture, food, and hidden gems.
