Ever since R.C Van Dyne from Wilmington, NC tasted farinata in Alessandria, Italy, he has been wanting to make it. We obtained this recipe from Rose Pistola restaurant in San Francisco, where they serve their own farinata.
Farinata is a thin, crisp, pizzalike pancake made from chick-pea flour. When we called Rose Pistola, we were thrilled to learn that the recipe had already been reworked for the home cook by Peggy Knickerbocker, coauthor with chef Reed Hearon of The Rose Pistola Cookbook: 140 Recipes from San Francisco's Favorite North Beach Restaurant (out October, 1999 from Broadway Books).
The following recipe makes three farinata, but they must be baked one at a time. We suggest opening a bottle of wine, hanging out in the kitchen with friends, and eating the farinata as they come out of the oven.
For best results, use a 10-inch seasoned cast-iron round griddle, about 3/8-inch deep, that can hold about 1 cup batter. Farinata can be made in a regular cast-iron skillet, but it won't be quite as crisp or easy to remove.
Recipe information
Total Time
2 hr 5 min
Yield
Serves 6 as an hors d'oeuvre (3 farinata)
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
At least 1 hour before making farinata, set a pizza stone on rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 550°F.
Step 2
Whisk together chick-pea flour and water until smooth, then whisk in salt and 2 tablespoons of oil. Let stand at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
Step 3
Cook onion with salt to taste in 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes, then cool.
Step 4
Put a seasoned 10-inch cast-iron round griddle on pizza stone and heat 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and add 1/2 tablespoon oil, tilting to coat evenly. Working quickly, stir batter and ladle about 7/8 cup (1 cup minus 2 tablespoons) evenly into pan (batter will sizzle and start to set almost immediately). Quickly scatter a third of the onion, olives, and sage leaves over the batter and carefully return pan to pizza stone. If using an oven with a built-in broiler, bake 12 minutes, then turn oven setting to broil for 1 to 5 minutes. If using an oven with broiler underneath, bake 15 minutes, then transfer pan to broiler for 1 to 2 minutes. Edges should be golden brown and crisp and top flecked with golden spots.
Step 5
Slide farinata onto a cutting board. Make 2 more in same manner, reheating pan 5 minutes for each successive farinata. Halve farinata and cut into strips.
