13 · Liguria · chickpea flatbread / street food
Farinata di ceci
Genova and the metropolitan Genovese coast, Liguria- Ask for
- Farinata di ceci
- From
- Genova and the metropolitan Genovese coast, Liguria
- When
- Confirm seasonal availability with the place.
Story & traditions
The essential guide
Four image-led notes · the things worth knowing
Farinata di ceci, Genoese fainâ, is a thin chickpea-flour bake with a burnished top, crisp edges and a soft, almost creamy centre.
Genoa’s old sciamadde still bake farinata in broad copper pans and wood-fired ovens. Antica Sà Pesta documents the preparation at its historic shop and an old Genoese name, scripilita, linked to the batter crackling in the hot testo; the famous sea-battle origin remains a legend, not established history.
Nutty and savoury with peppery olive-oil warmth. A good slice is deeply golden and crisp at the rim while the centre stays tender—not dry, cakey or heavily topped.
Whisk chickpea flour with water and rest the batter for several hours. Pour it thinly over olive oil in a hot copper pan, bake at very high heat until the top hazels and the edges crisp, then serve at once.
Ask for plain farinata or fainâ, freshly out of the oven, and add black pepper if offered. Confirm the chickpea version: related names elsewhere can mean different local preparations.
Available through much of the year; production or freshness may be seasonal. Eat it hot by the slice as a snack or light lunch. It needs little beyond pepper and perhaps a glass of crisp local white wine.
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Serving ideas & recipes
Eat it hot by the slice as a snack or light lunch. It needs little beyond pepper and perhaps a glass of crisp local white wine.
Preparation reference: Whisk chickpea flour with water and rest the batter for several hours. Pour it thinly over olive oil in a hot copper pan, bake at very high heat until the top hazels and the edges crisp, then serve at once.