LIVORNO’S GREAT SNACK

The cecina, the iconic street food of Liguria and Northern Tuscany.

Marinated aubergines, chickpea cake and crusty bread… Simply yummy!

In Livorno, the local cecina is called cinque cinque, “five five”.

At Da Gagarin, be ready to queue up a little during lunch time…

A glass of spuma and a cinque cinque will cost you just a few euros!

Every once in a while – and always when I’m embarking on a New Year – I feel the urge to gorge myself on a delicious cecina, a chickpea flatbread which is the typical street food of Liguria and Northern Tuscany.

In Livorno, the cecina comes in the shape of a sandwich: a chickpea cake filled with marinated aubergines and nestled between two slices of crusty bread. It’s yummy, low-priced, and Italians call it a cinque cinque, a “five-five”. You’ll find the best wood-oven cooked cinque cinque at Da Gagarin, a small eaterie opposite Livorno’s market. . Washed down with the traditional glass of spuma, a carbonated drink, your simple and scrumptious feast won’t set you back more than a few euros!

Not in Livorno? Well, here’s a sweet alternative: Elizabeth Minchilli’s recipe…