Cicerchia was for centuries a popular food in Italy. After the war fell into oblivion but was recently rediscovered and restored to its place among typical food products of Italy.
This pulse is so rustic that it grows where no other bean dares to grow. It was in fact cultivated in the spare patches of land, sometimes in between corn plants and had an important role in getting people trough the winter during the last war and in the difficult times just after it. With the new affluence of the fifties, cicerchia was relegated to the forgotten traditions. Recently this pulse is enjoying a renewed popularity, thanks to the efforts of aficionados and gourmet from the Verdicchio territory in Le Marche region. The charming village of Serra de’ Conti celebrates every year in November with a festival the recovered tradition of this simple pulse. This is how to prepare cicerchia. Soak for eight hours. Rinse, add a liter of water for every hundred grams of cicerchia and simmer for forty minutes in the half covered pot. Leave the bean in the water and drain it just before preparing it with vegetables or meat.
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