Cecina: A Chickpea "Pizza"

I've been looking for wheat/gluten-free recipes for epinoid, things that I can make for him. I've had a few half-attempts, recipes that almost worked, but weren't quite … right.

Back when I was a kid, my dad made a, "chickpea pizza," a flatbread that was thin, had the consistency of fruit-leather when fresh out of the oven, and became crispy the next day. Not, mind you, that we had any leftovers. It was that tasty.

So I started looking for recipes. I figured I'd find tons of earth-cookie or vegan or glutenphobic recipes for mock-pizza that uses chickpeas in the crust. Not so.

The flatbread that my father made is known in Provence as, "socca," and in the Italian riviera as "farinita" or "cecina." "Cecina," was also the name of a Roman flatbread made with chickpeas.

I'll be trying a few different recipes. Here's the first one, followed by what we thought of it.

Cecina

• 2 cups of Chickpea Flour
• 3 cups Water
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper
  or
  1 tablespoon Smoked Spanish Paprika
• 6 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Basil
• Additional Salt and Olive Oil for service

Lightly grease a 12" non-stick pizza pan with olive oil.

[I used a 12" sheet-pan, coated with olive oil. A nonstick cookie sheet would also work.]

In a medium saucepan, stir together the cold water, chickpea flour, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium- high heat, stirring regularly to prevent lumps from forming. The mixture will gradually thicken. Cook the "dough" until it starts pulling away from the sides of the pan, and a wooden spoon can stand straight up in the middle without help, about 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the basil and grated cheese. Immediately pour the mixture onto the prepared pan and spread in a thin even layer. Let the pizza cool to room temperature.

[I didn't pour it right away, and my mixture was ridiculously thick to start with. So, I ended up rolling it out. If you don't have a small rolling pin, use a glass; either way, oil it up with olive oil first.]

Adjust the oven rack to a lower shelf. Preheat the oven to 500 °F.

Bake the pizza until it is brown and crisp, about 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle generously with salt and drizzle with your best olive oil. Cut the pizza into squares and serve warm.

Now, I had some carmelized onions in the freezer. After 15 min., I spread the thawed-out onions on one half and baked for another 5 min. Then I shut off the oven and waited until epinoid came home. To finish, I sprinkled slices from the non-onion-side with some of the black-truffle-salt that we have.

As a result of the 20 min. baking time and letting it stand in the oven, it came out a little drier than it should have. Note for next time: Make the batter/dough thinner; Bake about 15 min; and remove from the oven when done.

I like it. I'll definitely make this one again, after trying out some other recipes. It's not the same as what I remember, but it's still good.

epinoid's verdict? He liked the onion-side better, and thought that the "plain" side had an "off flavor." He also said that it would be better with some tomato sauce. (I made some sauce a week ago, using a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes. It gave the sauce a smoky flavor, which epinoid loves.) So next time, I'll skip the basil if I don't have fresh (I used dried), and will add 3 tblsp. of the Smoked Spanish Paprika, instead.