Farinata with Grilled Vegetables
A local street food of Italy, in the Liguria Region, Farinata is definitely a comfort food that feeds your soul too. It is thicker than a crepe, thinner than a pancake, more like a thin crust pizza base & can be eaten like a pizza – plain, stuffed or topped. Very similar to the Indian Lentil Crepes like Chillas & Adais, Farinata is a GLUTEN FREE delight, made of chickpea flour.
“Farinata is a type of baked Italian pancake, or more accurately a flatbread, since pancakes tend to be sweet and farinata is a savory food. Generally, farinata is considered a street food, and it is closely related to pizza, often served with pizza toppings or used to wrap pizza-like ingredients. When traveling in Mediterranean regions of Italy, farinata is often offered as street food. It can also be made at home.
The origins of farinata can be found in Liguria, in Northwestern Italy. It is also sometimes called calentita, or panissa when it is fried, especially in Gibraltar, a region of Europe which has been heavily influenced by Italian cooking. Farinata is usually viewed as a snack food, with street vendors making single large pieces of the flatbread and cutting pieces off as requested by customers.” (Source)
Well, this recipe did not go as planned. I had everything at hand, ready to bake the farinata in the oven & my oven stopped working! I had used the oven the day before, & it did not give me any warning. I just had to go about making this without the oven. I did it on the stove top. It did not turn out to be much different.
If you want the preparation of the Farinata in the oven, I have it here. Today I’ll only write the stove top method. Coming to think about it, I was pretty happy I did it – it took less time, cooked pretty well, nice golden crispy & now I know another way to do it.
Farinata with Grilled Vegetables
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup chick pea flour/besan/garbanzo flour
- 1.5 cups of tepid water (more or less; the batter will be more like a thick soup consistency)
- 1 tablespoons of olive oil to mix with chick pea batter salt
- 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil for the skillet
- Freshly & Roughly crushed Black peppercorns
- Herbs like Rosemary
- Well seasoned cast iron skillet (feel free to use any skillet. I prefer to cook in the iron skillet as it retains heat much better & cooks uniformly than any others I have used)
For the Topping:An Assortment of Vegetables to be grilled for the topping; I have used all summer vegetables here -
- Bell peppers (Capsicum) – Red & Green
- Squash/Zucchini
- Eggplant (brinjal/aubergine)
- Sweet Onions
- Tomatoes
Note: Use vegetables as per your preference.
Preparation:Grill all the vegetables; Cool, Peel & chop/slice & set aside. (I grilled them on the stove top grill pan.)
Mix the water and the flour with a whisk, making sure there are no lumps, add salt and mix again. It should have the consistency of a crepe batter. Let it sit for atleast 4 hours (Or even better overnight. I did it for about 4 hours).
Coat the skillet with 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil & heat till almost smoking hot – a drop of water on the skillet should make it sizzle!
Make sure here before you pour the batter that the pan should be at level; if not the farinata will be thicker on one side & thinner on the other.
Skim off the surface foam from the batter. Whisk in the Freshly Ground Black Pepper & herb with the batter. Pour the batter in the hot skillet & turn it around for it to spread evenly. (mind it the skillet is HOT). Cook for about 2 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium & Cover the skillet & cook for about another 3-4 minutes or till the top of the farinata seems dry & you will notice tiny bubble like holes on the top. Do a toothpick test. It should come out fairly clean. The sides should start to crisp & brown by this time.
With a spatula, try to lift one side. If you see that the underneath is golden yellow & with brown spots, Carefully loosen the sides & the underneath & flip it over; make sure not to break the farinata. (If you find it difficult to lift it, cook for some more time at a higher heat).
Top the farinata base with the grilled vegetables you had set aside earlier. Increase the heat of the stove till the bottom & of the base is crispy golden/light brown.
Once done, take it off the heat. Serve warm while still crispy.
Slice it; Garnish with more freshly ground black pepper.
& serve just by itself, or topped with Marinated Feta Cheese, like I did on my share.
Now would you feel guilty indulging in this colorful summer treat? I would not. We all love Farinatas! A Gluten free, veggie loaded is snack always sings to our soul & fulfills it too. Sending this to HOTM, hosted by dear Ilva of Lucullian Delight. The theme this month is June’s Best Produce. I have all the wonderful vegetables here that the pretty summer has been offering us.
Party Tip:
For a party, it is a great idea to serve slices of farinata, with an assortment of topping. Allow the guests to pick & choose their own topping on their slices. Use any topping you would use on a bruschetta or a pizza; fresh tomatoes, grilled veggies, cheese, chutney are a few of them.
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Tags: appetizer recipe, argentina, bell peppers, cecina, chick pea pizza base, chickpea bake, chickpea flatbread, cuisine of northern itlay, cuisine of northwestern italy, different pizza dough, eggless recipe, faina, farinata, farinata topping, gluten free pizza, gluten free pizza dough, good her heart, grilled vegetables, healthy snack, heart friendly recipe, how to make farinata, italian, Italian cuisine, italian street food, la farinata, lentil crepes, liguria, ligurian farinata, local food, northern italy, party recipe, party snack, recipe for farinata, recipes with summer vegetables, secondary pizza, snack recipe, Socca, south beach diet, street food of italy, summer recipe, summer vegetables, vegan, vegan pizza, what is farinata
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:39 am
The way you explain about the dish makes me drool double.
This looks so so yully and love the colours too. Delicous.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Sounds really good. I’ve been meaning to try farinata.
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Thanks for the information about Farinata. I have not had it before. Sounds delicious with grilled veggies!
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:20 pm
New to me too..Sounds really intersting Soma..n yeah..so colorful..:)
n oh..forgot..Congrats a ton on the well-deserved Buitoni prize..:)..2 Treats pending now..;)..when u coming to Seattle..:D
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Delicious! It looks like the perfect weekend lunch or quick dinner. I love anything crepe or pancake related
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Ooooh! totally digging this farinata with a pizza topping! Your pictures are making me so hungry girl! I love how you by accident found that the cooking of this dish was better in the cast iron pan!!! Yep these kitchen appliances will not give one a warning! It will let you down right in the middle of an important culinary masterpiece!
Soma, may I ask you a question please? I cannot seem to link back to other blogs via the comments left on my new site (Word press). Like for example, in order to come to you, I had to go back to blogger and find an older comment of yours to come here. Can you help me (nazarina@karston.com) Thanks. I am asking you because you have the same kind of comment section set up that I have.
Thanks!
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I haven’t seen a farinata before, but it sure looks delicious!
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Wow looks very colorful and very healthy. Nice dish, lovely presentation.
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Never heard of this..Looks absolutely wonderful like pizza..
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:17 am
Eta ektu chilar moton tai na … shudhu oto patla noye. Grill veggies add kora te nischoi alada flavour ashe.
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:22 am
Farinata looks delicious! the best part is that i can use whatever topping i like!
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:30 am
wow sounds like a perfect breakfast. Nice explanation thanks for the recipe yum.
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:04 am
Oh wow lot of veggies makes it colorful and yum…
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:01 am
Ei eta cheela’r moton lagche na ? Amar pui data te pata esheche, yehhhhhhhh
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:57 am
wowwww i loved this very much!!
And these days i am upto such grilled things!!
So its a must try for me!!
Thanks for the recipe!!
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:12 am
I haven’t seen Farinata before, but looks absolutely delicious….your pictures are amazing!
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:35 am
Looks delicious. Love the one in the pan.
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:59 am
Your toppings look delicious! I like the idea of trying this on the stovetop too.
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:12 am
Good to learn about this delicious-sounding dish, Soma. The colors are so appetizing. And I was tickled to see your cast-iron skillet: I just wrote at length about how much I love mine!
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:46 pm
The photos offer great inspiration to make the Farinata. – which I have never heard of by the way. It sounds unique and irresistable. Will give it a try.
June 23rd, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Grilled? do i hear correct…amazing, was looking forward to a blog with some grilled recipes…good to have landed here!!!
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:08 pm
This recipe is so much better than those fried pakodas I end up making with besan.Definitely looks like a feast of summer’s fresh veggies:)
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Farinata is new to me and I am suprised and thriled to see chickpea flour being used in the recipe. Sorry that your oven broke down, but then hey we got to see the stove top version
June 24th, 2009 at 12:04 am
Farinata as stove topped, really very new…i was surprised to see chickpeas flour have been used in this recipe..looks fabulous Soma!
June 24th, 2009 at 6:26 am
I’ve seen Farinata on the web, though never tried it yet. Yours looks awesome!
June 24th, 2009 at 7:44 am
I am drooling over this !! Looks so fantantic with all the healthy ingrediants !! I just cant wait to try this out.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:58 am
[...] Not Quite Nigella wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptGrilled? do i hear correct…amazing, was looking forward to a blog with some grilled recipes…good to have landed here!!! yasmeen Says: June 23rd, 2009 at 8:08 pm. This recipe is so much better than those fried pakodas I end up making … [...]
June 24th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I’ve never heard of farinata before, so it’s always great to learn new things. I love crepes and pancakes so I am sure I would like this although I never eat savory ones as I have a sweet tooth.
June 24th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Yes, these are like the Indian Chillas – for those of who are familiar with it, except for the way it is cooked traditionally.
Thanks everyone!
June 25th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Ahhh, nice! A vegetarian street food and the chickpea flour is a fave of the Italians. This is very colourful and most appetizing.
June 25th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Soma, this just what we wanted this month in HotM! Thanks a lot!
June 26th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Wow,delicious.Love the post.I am yet to try this.Too perfect summer treat Soma.Nice explanation you have given as well.
June 29th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
yummy again,..
July 4th, 2009 at 1:54 am
Sounds lovely. I love chickpeas and anything made from it like Socca or Farinata or Pakoras.
))
I give you brownie points for making all this despite the fact that your oven died….I would be traumatized if my oven died…
July 6th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Grilled…
A local street food of Italy in the Liguria Region Farinata is definitely a comfort food that feeds [...]…
July 6th, 2009 at 7:58 am
This looks great; very healthy and delicious.
April 11th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
[...] His recipe (posted below) uses 4-6 Tbsp of olive oil. I used only 2 Tbsp with stellar results. I’m sure I’ll be making this again and again. Its salty, rosemary-infused flavor is reminiscent of focaccia, and it has the eat-with-your-hands appeal of pizza. In fact, you can even use Farinata as an alternative to thin pizza crust. [...]
April 11th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
I just made farinata for the first time this weekend. Wow, I love it! And I love the idea of using it as a pizza base. Beautiful pictures, btw.
May 2nd, 2010 at 11:03 am
[...] can’t take credit for making up this recipe. I found it on ecurry.com, but I didn’t quite make it the same as the author specified, since I’m lousy at [...]