Arkatena Omodous (Αρκατένα Ομόδους)

Arkatena Omodous are the chickpea-leavened rusks of Omodos in Cyprus, small sesame rings that rise on arkatis, a warm ferment made from crushed chickpeas. They are not ordinary paximadia cut from yesterday's bread. They begin with the leaven itself, then go through one bake to set and another to dry until they keep in the cupboard and answer back under your teeth.

The method that decides them is the arkatis. Keep the chickpea water warm through the night, until a beige cap of foam gathers and the smell is clean, beany, and a little sweet. If that foam doesn't come, don't make dough. Start again with fresh chickpeas and better warmth, because no amount of kneading will rescue a sleeping leaven.

I like arkatena because Cyprus teaches economy without meanness. Flour, chickpeas, sesame, a little oil, good olive oil and patience. When Cypriot notes come into my mailbag, the women argue about anise or no anise, rings or small rolls, but nobody argues about the chickpea ferment. The region is the dish's surname, and Omodos signs this one clearly.