Cooking with Vegan Ventimiglia

My hosts in Ventimiglia, Elizabeth and Pierre, are vegans and former chefs of some notoriety in the Washington DC area.

They know food and care about where it comes from and how it tastes and how providers care about the earth. In Petrini's definition of new gastronome, Elizabeth and Pierre are role models. 

I asked if I could have a cooking lesson and they generously agreed. 

I learned to make a Ligurian dish called Farinata which is a  thin flatbread or focaccia made from a dough comprised of protein dense chickpea flour, water and olive oil. It is sometimes flavored with rosemary, fresh spring onion or bianchetti which are newborn fish and whatever vegetables you have on hand. They bake theirs in a cast iron skillet with plenty of olive oil. 

It was delicious. 

Elizabeth, Pierre and one of their offspring. 

And me :)