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By
Kyle Phillips
Kyle Phillips
Food, wine, and travel writer Kyle Phillips lived in Tuscany and developed his passion and expertise for food and cooking through travel.
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Updated on 01/25/23
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Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Resting time: 4 hrs
Total: 4 hrs 35 mins
Servings: 10to 12 servings
45 ratings
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In much of Italy, a farinata is a thick porridge made with vegetables, broth, and finely ground flour of one sort or another.
The coastal Italian region of Liguria's farinata is a quite different: It's a popular street food made with chickpea flour and enough water to make a fairly liquid batter, and baked in the oven into a thin, crisp cake: What emerges is a very tasty chickpea pancake or flatbread that you slice up and serve. Expect it to go fast, and for people to demand more.
It is closely related to the socca of Nice, in southern France's Cote d'Azur region, and the cecina of Tuscany.
The town of La Spezia was servingfarinatain the street foods section of the 2010 Salone del Gusto, and in addition to serving it plain (and it was very good even plain), they were also serving it with sausages, casings removed and the meat crumbled over thefarinatabefore putting it in the oven, and with creamy cheese, which was dotted over the hotfarinataand melted wonderfully. Both mouthwatering options, though the plainfarinatais very good too.
Another classic option the folks from La Spezia weren't offering isaicipollotti,with finely chopped onions, which are sprinkled over thefarinatabefore putting it in the oven.
Next, a bit of history:
Farinata is said to have been discovered after the battle of Meloria, between Pisa and Genova, when the victorious Genoese fleet was hit by a storm so violent the barrels of chickpea flour in the holds were broken open and mixed with the seawater that was coming in. When the waters calmed the sailors scooped up the mess—they couldn't throw it away because it was all they had—and spread it on the decks to dry. It was so good that when they got home they began baking it, calling it L'Oro di Pisa, Pisan gold.
The final thing to noteis that though this chickpeafarinatais considered Ligurian, you will also find it along the Tuscan coast, where it is calledcecinaortorta diceci,in the French Costa Azzurra, where it is calledsocca,in Piemonte (introduced bygenoesetraders), where it is calledbelecauda,in the Genoese colonies of Sardinia, where it is calledfainè,and in Gibraltar, where it is calledcalentita.
For this recipe, you will need2 broad shallow pans with raised edges (if round about 15-inch, or 38 centimeters, in diameter, if rectangular, 10 by 18 inches or 25 by 45 centimeters.
Ingredients
1 1/8 pounds (500 grams) chickpea flour
1 2/3 quarts (1.6 liters) water
1 cup (250 milliliters) olive oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Steps to Make It
Gather the ingredients.
Put the water in a bowl. Use a whisk to beat the chickpea flour into the water, stirring briskly to keep lumps from forming.
Whisk in a healthy pinch of salt too, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it rest for at least 4 hours in a warm but not hot place.
When the time is up, preheat your oven to 440 F / 220 C. Use a slotted spoon to remove the foam that will have formed on the surface of the batter, and then mix in half of the oil, using the other half to oil your pans.
Pour the batter into the pans—it should be between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick or 5 and 10 millimeters.
Bake the farinata for 20 minutes, until it has firmed up and become golden. Slice it up and serve it hot, with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Variations
The following are all optional toppings which can be sprinkled over the farinata immediately before placing it in the oven to bake: sausage (raw, casing removed and crumbled); soft cheese (along the lines of Crescenza or even creamy ricotta); onions (chopped). Bake as directed in Step 6.
Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
---|---|
330 | Calories |
22g | Fat |
24g | Carbs |
9g | Protein |
Show Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Servings: 10to 12 | |
Amount per serving | |
Calories | 330 |
% Daily Value* | |
Total Fat 22g | 28% |
Saturated Fat 3g | 15% |
Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
Sodium 81mg | 4% |
Total Carbohydrate 24g | 9% |
Dietary Fiber 5g | 16% |
Total Sugars 5g | |
Protein 9g | |
Vitamin C 0mg | 0% |
Calcium 23mg | 2% |
Iron 2mg | 12% |
Potassium 353mg | 8% |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. |
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)
Recipe Tags:
- Pancake
- appetizer
- italian
- bake
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I don't like this at all.It's not the worst.Sure, this will do.I'm a fan—would recommend.Amazing! I love it!Thanks for your rating!