Cinque e Cinque (5x5 Livornese Sandwich)
Cinque e Cinque (5x5) is a Livornese sandwich filled with a soft and delicious chickpea flatbread, marinated eggplant with garlic and chilli and served on a soft, crusty roll.
Servings: 3 - 3 sandwiches
Equipment
- plastic wrap
- Grill or griddle pan
- 11.5 inch (29cm) Oven safe non stick or stainless steel pan
Ingredients
For the Torta di Ceci
- 1 cup 9125g) Chickpea flour (aka Besan or Gram flour)
- 1.5 cups (335ml) Water
- 2.5 tablespoons olive oil
- A good pinch of salt
For the marinated eggplant
- 1 small/medium sized eggplant aubergine
- 1 small pinch chilli flakes about ¼ teaspoon or less
- 1 garlic clove finely sliced
- ½ tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for grilling
For serving
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Soft crusty rolls such as French baguette 1 per person
Instructions
Make the chickpea batter
- Add the chickpea flour to a large mixing bowl. Pour the water in whilst mixing with a hand whisk to remove as many lumps as possible. Add the olive oil and salt. Cover with plastic wrap (cling film) and let it rest for at least 2 hours.
To make the marinated eggplant
- Cut the eggplant into slices about ¼ inch or 1/2cm thick. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and grill them well on both sides. We use a ridged griddle pan.
- In a small bowl or ramekin, mix the sliced garlic, chilli flakes, red wine vinegar and olive oil together. Put the eggplant in a bowl and pour the marinade over. Set aside until needed.
Cook the Torta di Ceci
- Pre-heat the oven to 450℉/230℃ (fan) 475℉/250℃ (static). If you are using a stainless steel pan, then you’ll need to preheat it in the oven before adding any olive oil.
- If using a non-stick pan, you can add the olive oil now. I recommend adding about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and make sure it’s greased well up the sides.
- Skim away any foam from the chickpea batter and give it a stir. Pour the batter into the pan, then bake in the oven for 20 minutes until coming away from the edges and starting to turn golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle with sea salt and let it rest for a few minutes, then while still hot, remove and cut into slices (big enough to fit your roll).
Assemble
- Place one slice of torta di ceci on the roll, followed by 2 slices of eggplant, then another slice of torta di ceci on top. Top with lots of black pepper and enjoy.
Notes
- Grease your pan well - it's important to grease your pan well with olive oil even if it's a non stick pan. Torta di Ceci will still stick to the pan if it's not greased well enough. Use about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil for an 11.5 inch pan (29cm).
- Using a stainless steel pan - stainless steel needs to be preheated before adding any oil to make it act as non stick. Pre-heat your pan in the oven, then add the oil. I tend to add a touch more oil if using stainless steel too.
Nutrition
Calories: 601kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Sodium: 267mg | Potassium: 1064mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 77IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 6mg
