Chestnuts have been an important part of the diet in the Appenine and Apuan regions in northern Tuscany for centuries. Particularly in times of war and famine, chestnuts saved people from starvation.
Necci are a type of pancake made from chestnut flour. They are simply made by mixing chestnut flour with water (250 grams of flour to 1 cup water). The batter is mixed until smooth and slightly thicker than a normal crepe batter.
Each area has a slightly different recipe. Sometimes a little oil and salt is added, or rosemary.
There are several ways to cook the necci. At a couple of chestnut festivals I have seen them cooked between 2 cast iron discs with long handles over a flame. A little olive oil is placed on the flat disc and spread with a potato cut in half, then a small quantity of batter is placed on the disc and spread thinly, and the other disc is put on top. It isn’t as easy as it sounds, you need just the right amount of oil and heat or the pancake sticks to the disc and makes a horrible mess.
Once browned on both side they are spread with ricotta or nutella and rolled up…and eaten.
At a food festival in Lucca we saw a very interesting way of cooking necci. The batter was placed on hot, flat stones covered with chestnut leaves and stacked on top of each other.
This method also proved to be effective, and delicious.
Look for necci at food festivals in the area, or if you are in Lucca, go to Via Buia and look for Pizza da Felice where you can buy necci, along with delicious pizza and cecina, the chickpea pancakes popular in the area.
Click here to see a gorgeous chestnut festival in Colognora and here for an equally fabulous one in Lupinaia.
Bella Bagni di Lucca 
My family from Bagni di Lucca area always told how they survived on “farina di castagne” during the war. Once they were here in the US for a few years, getting a package of chestnut flour from relatives back in Bagni was a real treat. We would all gather to watch my grandmother make necci one at a time with her very long handled iron over the stove. She would have a variety of fillings on the table, including delicious greens sauteed in olive oil and garlic, sausage and ricotta. We would each fill our own while waiting our turn for the next one.
This once peasant staple is experiencing a renewed popularity in the Lucca area.
It took me a while to get used to the taste of necci, but I love them now, especially with ricotta. It is great to see some of the traditions being carried on.
I love them with ricotta. I hate Nutella!
I’m not a Nutella fan either.
Chestnut festivals sound exciting. I have never heard of these chestnut crepes before, sounds delicious though.
Local chestnut festivals are great fun. Many of the villages around Bagni di Lucca hold one in autumn each year.
Heck, I’ll eat them with Nutella OR ricotta. I just need to find the flour or some restaurant that makes them! They sound delicious!
You should be able to buy chestnut flour, although it can be quite expensive outside Italy.
I just love the colours…how could they NOT be delicious too. Peasant food is the best!
Peasant food is now sometimes thought of as exotic. Perhaps people who had nothing else to eat might not enjoy chestnuts so much now.
That’s true. And yet I find myself eating in a very limited range and keeping to the seasons – by choice of course. I would make a good peasant I think!
Eating in season is the way to go…I think I’ll have a mango.
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Does anyone know where if possible I could get/buy a traditional coast iron (paddles) necci iron?
There was a shop in Via San Paolini in Lucca where you could buy these things, but I am not sure of it is still there. They often turn up at second hand markets.