In his 1474 Renaissance cookbook, On Right Pleasure and Good Health, Platina describes the variety of olives and their different culinary applications. On olives – there are several kinds of olives: the preserving kind, the long olive, the oblong olive, which is best preserved of all olives, as Varro says, the Salentine, and the Spanish. They are eaten with fish and roasted meats so as either to dispel squeamishness or induce appetite.

On the chick-pea: The chick-pea is salty, and therefore it burns the soil and ought not to be sown unless it has been soaked the day before.

1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup water
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup chopped green olives
3 tablespoons chopped rosemary
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Set an oven rack 6-inches below your oven’s broiler.

In a large bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, salt, and pepper. Slowly pour in the water, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Whisk in olive oil. Let sit for 30 minutes.

When the batter is finished resting, place a large skillet in the top rack of the oven for about 5 minutes.

Remove the skillets from the oven using oven mitts. Add 1 teaspoon or so of olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat the bottom. Pour in the batter, making sure it coats the entire surface of the pan.

Top with the olives, rosemary and cheese and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, the edges should begin to brown.

Cut into thin slices and serve drizzled with olive oil.

Serves 6