Organic Hulled Peas - 400gr

GENERAL INFORMATIONS Cicerchie are among the oldest legumes most consumed by our ancestors: it seems they already ate them in Mesopotamia more than 8000 years ago. This legume, whose smell and taste is a good mix of broad beans and peas, was the food of farmers when they had nothing else to eat. With the abandonment of the countryside, the cicerchia also risked disappearing, a reminder of a period of hunger and poverty. Today this legume has been rediscovered and valued, becoming one of the species subject to renewed interest by the most attentive consumers. This is also thanks to the extreme resistance of this species and its adaptability to cultivation conditions which do not require the use of mineral fertilizers and phytochemical products and which make it a particularly suitable crop to be included in the "organic" cultivation systems. Nutritional values In any season of the year, the Cicerchie   make their precious contribution to the table. Like most legumes, they are very rich in protein, they also contain calcium, phosphorus and various types of vitamins, especially PP and group B. In hulled grass peas, the fibers are present in minimal quantities and despite being low in fat, this legume is very energetic (in 100 g of cicerchie we find about 315 kcal), stimulates the memory and improves the general muscle tone of the body. Cultivation areas In Italy it is not a widely cultivated legume, the only regions where it is more common to find it are Umbria, Lazio, the Marche and Abruzzo. Cicerchie, although rare, have obtained recognition as a traditional Italian agri-food product by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. Storage and consumption The product must be kept dry in a cool and dry place. Its preservation and food integrity is guaranteed for a period of over 18 months from packaging. Before being cooked and consumed, they must be soaked for 4-6 hours in warm, salted water or with a spoonful of baking soda, changing the water two or three times. The soaking water should be eliminated and not used for cooking. After soaking, put the cicerchia in the pot with cold water (one liter of water is recommended for 100 g of cicerchia), bring to the boil over moderate heat, continue cooking for 30 minutes, adding salt halfway through cooking . At the end of cooking, leave the cicerchia in the water to prevent it from hardening due to cooling. Drain immediately before final preparation or table service.