This is a modern tale about love, traditions and tastes. But before starting to read, you should learn two Italian words: farinata and sciamadda.
Farinata is the main tasteful character of our story and it’s typical Ligurian meal made of chickpea flour in a wood oven.
Sciamadda, the ancestor of fast food, is the second word. It’s a type of restaurants that serves street food. The term derives from “fiammata”, the blaze in a burning oven where farinata is baked.
Ania is the heroine of our story, the girl with a dazzling smile and blue eyes like the sea. She was born in Poland and she used to teach German, but now she “prepares” the most delicious Farinata I’ve ever eaten.
It’s very difficult to find a perfect Farinata. Sometimes it’s too thick, sometimes it’s too burnt, but Ania’s Farinata is always savoury in the best possible way! Once you’ve tried a piece of this delicacy, you’ll be craving for more.
Ania and her husband met each other during a holiday in France by chance. The first time they met Ania didn’t even notice the Italian boy from Genova. But, her best friend_ felt in love with his best friend at first sight. So, few months later, Ania had another chance to meet her future husband again.
This time Cupid’s arrows did their job and since that encounter, they’ve never separated, living a happy life together.
Our heroine, as every woman, is very brave – she consciously ventured to leave her family, homeland and job to follow her love.
Since 1814, her husband’s family have owned this little sciamadda in the historic_ city centre of Genoa, just next to the house of Columbus. From generation to generation, they pass down the secret recipe of such a perfect Farinata.
The legend says that Farinata was brought to the world thanks to the storm: barrels of chickpea flour and olive oil broke, mixed together and got wet whith salty sea water in the hold of a Genoese ship. The day after, sailors had nothing to eat so, they decided to dry their “findings” under the sun and eat it.
This is how this simple and incredibly delicious dish was born and how Ania moved to Italy, where she continues following the tradition of her husband’s family.
In the tiny sciamadda, ancient pictures hang on the walls showing the history of the family and the old city. Ania’s welcoming smile, her attractive foreign accent, the smell of the freshly-baked farinata… perfect ingredients for a lifetime experience.
