Made with chickpea flour, farinata is actually more of a savory pancake than a bread. It’s easy to make this Ligurian specialty that can be served as an appetizer or as part of the main meal. Farinata is often prepared without embellishment, but I sometimes add a fresh herb such as rosemary or sage, or chopped olives and sun-dried tomatoes, as in this recipe. Recipe from Vegan Without Borders* by Robin Robertson/Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC ©2014, reprinted by permission. Photos by Sara Remington.
Serves: 6
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons minced kalamata olives
- 3 tablespoons minced sun-dried tomatoes
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the water and chickpea flour until smooth. Add the oil, salt, a few grinds of pepper, olives, and tomatoes, and mix until well blended. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Oil a 12-inch pizza pan and heat in the oven until hot. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and add the batter, spreading evenly. Bake until the top is firm and the edges are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cut into thin wedges and serve immediately.
Variation: Omit the olives and tomatoes from the batter and spread the baked farinata with a thin layer of pesto.
- Here are more tasty vegan appetizers.
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Carry says
Do you think this could be set aside for more than an hour? I'm thinking if I could make the batter in the morning before work, but wait to cook it until after I got home, it would make an quick weeknight side dish to a bowl of soup.
Tara says
What is the green in the photo? I don't see anything in the ingredient list (small pet peeve of mine is when pictures don't match the recipe! 😉 Also, I love fresh herbs so would love to know! Thanks.
Nava says
Tara, that's a good question. Sometimes an herb is added to dress up a photo, but I agree that some sort of herb would only enhance an already tasty recipe. Let me see if I can get the recipe's author, Robin Robertson, to weigh in.
Nava says
Carry, so sorry for this ridiculously delayed response. This comment went under my radar. I'll see if I can get this recipe's author, Robin Robertson, to weigh in.
Robin says
Hi Carry,
Yes, you could make the batter well ahead of time -- but you'll need to refrigerate it for that long of a time frame. The refrigeration plus the long time frame will thicken (stiffen) the batter considerably -- it may seem more like a soft dough than a batter at this point. So take it out of the fridge as soon as you get home to bring it closer to room temperature. To help spread it evenly on the baking pan you can also top it with a sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper and press it out evenly or roll it with a rolling pin. I hope this helps!
Robin says
Tara, the green in the photo is chopped fresh basil. As adding pesto is one of the variations in the recipe, the photographer took the liberty of including some basil for color. Chopped basil (or a few tiny dollops of pesto would be good in this either on its own or in addition to the olives and sun-dried tomatoes ((my preference). I think that flavor combo is magical!
Mary says
Can you use wheat flour or something other than chickpea flour with the same results?
Nava says
Mary, chickpea flour is the characteristic ingredient of farinata, so using another flour,like wheat, would make it more like focaccia! Hope that helps.