Ingredients:
- 250 g (2.72 cups) chickpea flour
- 700 ml (3 cups) water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
1. Put the chickpea flour in a bowl and add the water very slowly, a little at a time, stirring continuously with a fork in order to avoid clumps. (Be patient. I used to dump all the water in at once and spend ten minutes smashing all the clumps with a fork.)
2. Let the batter rest for one hour.
3. Add oil and salt and mix well.
4. Pour into one or two pans (depending on the size of the pans) which have been greased with oil. The batter should be around two-thirds of a centimeter high.
5. Bake between 210-300°C (410-572°F), depending on how hot your oven gets, for around twenty minutes but the time varies. Check it frequently. When the top is golden and the edges start to brown and come away from the sides of the pan, but the inside is still soft (not too soft and raw but not too solid and cooked either- check with a fork), then it is done.
6. Eat it right away with ground black pepper on top.
Update: serves four. If I make the entire recipe, I pour the batter into two 10 x 11.5″ (25 x 29 cm) pans, to give you an idea of how much batter should go into one pan (if there is too much batter, the farinata is too high and doesn’t turn out right). I usually cook for two, halve this recipe, and use one pan.
Farinata goes well with rosemary, so feel free to add a sprig of fresh rosemary to the batter while it’s resting and then take it out, or add fresh or dried rosemary to the batter and leave it there while baking. There are also many versions of farinata, with “toppings” added to the batter a bit like pizza. You can experiment (zucchini goes very well), but I’ve never felt much need since the traditional recipe is so good.
It’s not as good leftover, but if made right I doubt you’ll have much trouble finishing it.
Buon appetito!
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Ligurian Farinata (Savory Italian Pancake or Flatbread)
Prep Time: 8 mins
Total Time: 23 mins
Serves: 1, Yield: 1 Farinata
"Every Italian region has its comfort food, its local dish imbued with memories, tradition, and nostalgia. In Liguria, the region flanking Genoa along Italy's northwest coast, that dish is Farinata. A deceptively simply street food, Farinata is somewhat like a large chickpea crepe. Crisp and golden on the top, soft and moist on the inside, glistening with fragrant olive oil on the bottom, Farinata is a finger-lickin' food that nourishes the soul. Farinata, just like pizza, can be stuffed or garnished with any vegetable, cheese, or sauce; Or it can be eaten plain, right out of the oven!"
Ingredients
2/3 cup italian chickpea flour
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
3/4 cup mineral water
rosemary (optional)
Directions
In a large bowl, add the flour to the water, a little at a time, mixing and seasoning with salt until all of the flour and water has been absorbed; Add Optional Rosemary at this point.
Let it rest for 4 hours (Or even better overnight).
After this time, a layer of foam will have developed on the surface - Scrape it off with a spoon.
Add the olive oil and remove the Rosemary (Optional) - Stir until all the Oil is absorbed.
Pour into an olive oil well greased baking pan - the right one is called testo, made of "tinned copper" It should be about an eighth of an inch thick, perhaps a little more - a small deep dish Pizza pan will do (We used an iron skillet).
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Remove from the oven when one of the corners (or the edge) starts to appear dark and has turned a golden color.
Sprinkle plenty of pepper and eat immediately.
***It is of paramount importance that the pan is perfectly flat and level when in the oven, otherwise one of the corners will be thicker and will be undercooked when the opposite corner starts to darken. It tends to stick if you do not use enough oil. Also use parchment paper.
