Small Valdarno Chickpea

This is an original variety of Valdarno and has been known for time immemorial on the Tuscan hillsides, for a while it was restricted to family consumption. It is a small pulse with a fine skin and tender pulp, with a dark colour and strong flavour. Its texture makes it the perfect ingredient for any recipe – soup, farinata (a thin, crisp, pizza-like pancake) – as well as being delicious on its own with a simple dressing of oil and rosemary.

Valdarno Pisa

Valdarno

Traditionally grown in poor soil, the small chickpea is now produced in the lucky land around Siena and Florence, where the gentle slopes covered in vineyards and olive groves are interspersed with hillocks in a wild state or covered in chestnut, oak and beech forests.

Leek and chickpea roll-ups

Ingredients

  • 4 medium leeks
  • 8 fresh sage leaves
  • 1 large orange
  • 400 g of boiled chickpeas
  • 1 head of Radicchio Variegato di Chioggia (red chicory)
  • balsamic vinegar
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • salt

Method

Remove almost all the green end of the leeks. Use a sharp knife to make a small incision right along the leeks and put the first three, attractive outer leaves from each leek aside, wash the rest and slice thinly.

Heat three tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan, add the sliced leek with the washed sage, cover and cook for about 15 minutes over low heat. Boil the 12 whole leek leaves in a small amount of water for one minute each, place them in cold water, then dry them and cut them into 12x10 cm squares.

Wash and dry the orange, grate ½ teaspoon of zest. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, then select the 24 best looking chickpeas, cut them in half and crush the rest with a fork.

Puree the browned leeks in a blender with the orange zest and crushed chickpeas, add salt to taste then use a patisserie bag to squeeze a strip of filling onto the whole leek leaves. If the filling is too dry to squeeze, moisten it with some broth or water.

Roll up the leaves around the filling. Wash and dry the chicory, lay the leaves on a single serving dish or individual plates and dress it with balsamic vinegar, salt and oil to taste. Lay the leek rolls on the salad, place a row of chickpea halves along each one, then decorate with half-slices of peeled orange.

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