Rome-Bombay mix

Chickpea flour is commonly used both in Mediterranean cuisine (especially in Liguria, Tuscany and Latium) and in Indian cuisine. Chickpeas have a great nutrition potential because they contain proteins, amides and fibres. They should always be present in a vegetarian’s diet. With a chickpea batter it is possible to create gluten-free wraps with an intense and unique flavour. In that case one only needs to pour a few tablespoons of the mixture on a non-stick hot and slightly oiled pan (using extra virgin olive oil). One tip: to prepare this recipe I used a metal 28x22cm mould and a medium-sized syringe.

Roma-Bombay mix

INGREDIENTS
for the Roman style cubes
1 l water
200 g chickpea flour
40 g buckwheat flour
10 g cooking salt
lemon zest
sage
rosemary
lemon juice

for the Bombay mix
750 g water
350 g chickpea flour
150 g buckwheat flour
10 g powdered turmeric
10 g Himalaya salt

oil for frying
aromatic herbs
flowers

METHOD
1) For the Roman-style cubes: put the two types of flour into a bowl, add half of the water necessary for the recipe and finely whisk all the ingredients. Finely chop the zest and herbs and add to the other ingredients. Bring the remaining water to the boil together with the salt. Slowly pour the two melted flours into the boiling water and keep on whisking for 5 minutes. Remove from the stove, add the chopped herbs and zest and put the mixture into a previously oiled baking tin. Smooth the top with a spatula and leave to cook in the fridge.

2) For the Bombay mix: put the flours into a metal bowl, add the salt and turmeric. Pour the cold water on top and mix with a whisk until you obtain a smooth batter. Leave to cool for a few hours in the fridge.

3) Cut the chickpea and buckwheat polenta into cubes of the same size; fry them in seed oil at 180°C for about 3 minutes. Drain and season them with a few drops of lemon juice and keep warm.

4) Put the batter into a syringe; let some drops fall on the seed oil (as above) and fry for two minutes. Drain and keep aside.

5) Place the cubes and the fried batter on the dish. Decorate with petals and aromatic herbs.