Cicerchia: properties and nutritional values of an ancient legume
Cicerchia is a legume of ancient memory, especially in central Italy, which is experiencing a great recovery thanks to the organic market and above all Italian catering, very attentive to the diversity and quality of the products. It is also a plant rich in properties and values nutritional all to be discovered.
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The properties of the cicerchia
Like any legume, the cicerchia is rich in proteins. It is therefore excellent in vegetarian diets, as an alternative to meat consumption, and in general it is excellent for muscle and heart health. In addition to proteins, in fact, the cicerchia also contains B vitamins, calcium and phosphorus. Among its properties there is in fact the benefit it brings to bones and memory, thanks to the presence of mineral salts. It is also rich in fiber, which makes it a perfectly digestible food.
Cicerchia: nutritional values
The nutritional values of the cicerchia are precisely those listed above, but it is appropriate to add that 100 grams of product contain about 315 calories, and that always in the same quantity there are many proteins, a certain dose of carbohydrates, and the real good news, very little fat and a lot of fiber. An excellent excuse to recover this ancient legume and use it as an alternative to lentils, beans, chickpeas and peas.
Contraindications in the use of cicerchia
The cicerchia in the kitchen is still a rare food, also because it is not very widespread, and even in the regions where it grows, such as Lazio, Umbria, Marche, Molise and Puglia, it is little used. The reason is perhaps linked to a contraindication in the excessive consumption of cicerchia, which in the past led to latirism. A disorder that led to paralysis of the lower limbs, caused, according to research dating back to the nineteenth century, by an amino acid present in the seeds of cicerchia, called ODAP. However, the phenomenon is linked to excessive consumption, and today's crops try to obtain a grass pea with a very low concentration of this neurotoxin. In any case, it is believed that the toxin can be completely eliminated by soaking the grass pea in salted water for at least 12 hours.
