Torta di Ceci - a wonderful Livornese speciality

Torta di Ceci, a Livornese specialityTorta di Ceci is the perfect street food! It's tasty, nutritious and cheap, and easy to eat as a snack on the move, or as part of a meal.

Torta di Ceci is made from chick pea flour. This flour is made into a thin batter and cooked in huge round tins in a very hot oven, preferably wood-fired. The resulting 'pancake' is sold by weight, and is traditionally eaten in bread as a 5&5 (“Cinque e Cinque”) which refers to the original value of the bread and the torta (5 old liras of bread and 5 of ‘torta’). There are some historic Tortai (torta di ceci makers) in Livorno, such as Cecco in the Borgo district, and Gagari by the covered food market. See below for addresses.