Book of Days Tales

Gibraltar National Day, celebrated annually on this date, is the official national day of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The day commemorates Gibraltar’s first sovereignty referendum of 1967, in which Gibraltarian voters were asked whether they wished either to be governed under Spanish sovereignty, or remain under British sovereignty, with new  institutions of self-government. They voted overwhelmingly to remain British (99.64%).

Calentita is a simple unleavened bread made from chickpea flour and olive oil. It has been eaten in Gibraltar for generations. It has identical ingredients to Genoese fainâ, and it is said to have been brought to Gibraltar by Genoese immigrants in the early 18^th century.  In essence it is a baked pancake-like dish, similar to the Italian farinata, and in Uruguay and Argentina as fainá (and served with pizza), and in the Nice region of France as socca. It is made with chickpea flour, water, olive oil, salt and pepper.

    Ingredients

        1 cup chickpea flour

        2 cups water

        1 Tbsp of olive oil

        ½ tsp salt (or ¼ cup Parmesan cheese)

        white pepper

    Instructions

Heat oven to 350° F/175° C.

Grease an 8″x8″ oven pan with olive oil.

Put the chickpea flour, water, olive oil and salt (or Parmesan cheese) in a food processor or mixer. Process until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until a fork inserted in the middle comes out dry, 40-60 minutes. Sprinkle with white pepper. Serve warm.