Cook this
The working recipe — the Market List, the Method, and where it lives or dies
I
Origin
Liguria — Genova
II
Description
Genoa's chickpea polenta — a preparation almost identical to Tuscan cecina but served differently: farina di ceci cooked in water with olive oil until thick and smooth, then poured into an oiled flat tray to set into a firm, sliceable slab. Cooled panissa is cut into slices, wedges, or cubes and served cold as street food, in focaccia bread, or fried in abundant olive oil until golden and crisp on the outside with a creamy interior. The genovese tradition eats panissa from vendors who sell it wrapped in paper.
III
The Thread
—Both use farina di ceci with water and olive oil — Ligurian farinata is baked thin in a copper pan while panissa is boiled thick and set cold; the same ingredient, two completely different preparations Tuscan
—Chickpea flour + water + olive oil baked in a copper pan — the coastal connection between Genoa and Nice: the same ingredient used differently on either side of the maritime border Niçoise
—Fried set chickpea flour preparations — the Sephardic Jewish tradition of frying set chickpea flour preparations is found across the Mediterranean from Spain to Turkey to Liguria Sephardic
IV
Flavour Context
Smooth creamy chickpea, olive oil richness, slightly mineral finish — simple, satisfying, the defining Genovese street food experience
Pillars V — VII
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