cecciata
chickpeas with pork and kale

serves 2

 

chickpeas, boiled, enough for 2 portions

1 pork chop or other cut of pork cut into small pieces

lacinto kale (cavolo nero), boiled, enough for 2 portions

salt and black pepper

fennel flowers if you have them

 

Soak the chickpeas (ceci hence cecciata) overnight and then boil them in salted water with a carrot and some celery leaves until soft, about 1 hour depending on how big they are and how old they are. Rinse the kale, strip each leaf from its core and chop into medium sized pieces. Boil the kale in salted water for 10 minutes or until relatively tender and drain, no need to squeeze out the water. Brown the pork in a small amount of olive oil until the fat renders and the meat is cooked through. Add the chickpeas with a bit of their pot liquor and use the back of a fork or wooden spoon to smash a few of the chickpeas so the liquid goes creamy. Add the kale and stir all together over a relatively high flame. Season with salt, lots of black pepper and some fennel flowers if you have them. Serve topped generously with extra virgin olive oil. 

 

I first ate this immensely satisfying plate of ceci at the old, family-run trattoria Cammillo in the center of Florence, doused it in super high quality olive oil as is their way. In any event, no need to come to Florence to eat cecciata, it could not be easier to make at home.