Farinata Italian Chickpea Pancake

5 from 4 votes

Farinata Italian Chickpea Pancake

Although wheat pancakes are more common, chickpea flour pancakes, known as farinata, make a delicious change and these golden brown pancakes pair with all kinds of tasty toppings.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Fermenting and Resting Time4

Total Time4 30

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pancake

Servings:

Author: Bella Bucchiotti

Ingredients

1 Cup chickpea flour
1¼ Cups water
¼ Cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Teaspoon salt
½ Teaspoon black pepper
½ yellow onion thinly sliced
1 Clove garlic finely minced
1 or 2 Stems fresh rosemary leaves only

Topping Ideas:

Pitted olives, cherry or grape tomatoes, thinly shaved zucchini slices, cooked garbanzo beans

Instructions

Make and Ferment the Batter:

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour and water. Whisking is better than stirring with a spoon, the flour mixes with the water easier with a whisk. Let sit, covered lightly with a dish towel for at least 4 hours, but overnight is best, even 2-3 days. The longer you let the batter sit, the tangier and fluffier the bread will be.
Stir batter with a spoon, at least once daily. The amount of time it needs to ferment will be determined by how warm or cold it is in the room. It will ferment faster in warmer environments.

Prep Batter for Baking:

When you are ready to make the farinata, skim the impurities off the top of the batter with a metal spoon and then give it a stir. You might see bubbles in the batter and that’s normal due to fermentation.
Add salt, black pepper and minced garlic to the batter. Stir or whisk until well combined.

Preheat Oven and Pan:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
For the last 10 minutes of preheating the oven, place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven to preheat as well. If your pan begins to smoke in the oven before it's fully heated, use oven mitts or heat-resistant gloves, and carefully remove the pan from the oven to prevent any further smoking or burning. Check to see if there's oil in the pan that might be causing the smoke. If so, wipe down the pan with a paper towel, removing any excess oil. Return pan to the oven.
After 10 minutes, carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven using oven mitts and place it on a level, heat-safe surface. Add the olive oil to the skillet and swirl it around to coat the bottom evenly. Make sure you have added enough oil to thoroughly cover the bottom of the pan. The oil will create a shield beneath the batter that allows it to cook perfectly and makes it easy to remove from the pan.

Pour Batter into Pan:

Pour the chickpea batter into the hot, oiled skillet over a wooden spoon, in order not to break the oil’s surface. To do this, hold the wooden spoon at a 45-degree angle with the tip of the spoon just barely touching the oil. Pour the batter into the spoon, letting it run into the pan from the spoon.
Once the batter is in the pan, the edges of the batter should begin to bubble and cook, even before you put it back in the oven (if the pan was hot enough). Don’t worry if it doesn’t, your farinata just might not come out as fluffy this time.
Sprinkle sliced onion and rosemary leaves over the top of the batter for added flavor.

Bake the Farinata:

Put the skillet back in the oven and bake the chickpea pancake for 10 minutes, watching it closely, as the cooking time depends on how hot the pan got while preheating. Watch for the edges to become crisp and golden brown, and the center to set. With a very hot skillet, it can bake in 5 minutes. With a cooler skillet, it can take up to 15 minutes.
If the top does not brown by the time the edges become crisp, broil for 2 or 3 minutes or until the surface just starts to turn golden brown. Do not over-broil. Remove it as soon as it's done, as it can dry out easily if overcooked and you want it to remain fluffy, like the consistency of polenta or scrambled eggs.

Remove from Oven:

Remove the skillet from the oven. The pancake may deflate slightly as it cools, but this adds to the beautiful texture of this bread.
Use a thin, metal spatula to release the farinata from the pan, slowly working your way around the entire thing.
Allow the farinata to cool for a few minutes before slicing it into wedges or squares. You can use a pizza cutter or even kitchen scissors to get nice, clean slices.

Time to Serve:

Serve the chickpea pancake hot, either as a main dish or as a side. It's delicious on its own or topped with additional ingredients like Greek olives, cherry or grape tomatoes, thinly shaved zucchini, cooked garbanzo beans.

Notes

Plan ahead: The longer you allow the farinata batter to ferment, the tangier and fluffier it will come out, so give it an absolute minimum of 4 hours fermentation time, and up to 2 or 3 days (it ferments faster in a warm kitchen than a cool one).
Preheat the skillet: Don't skip the skillet preheating step, otherwise your farinata won't have a crisp bottom.
Tasty toppings: Sliced olives, cherry tomatoes, thinly shaved zucchini, and cooked garbanzo beans are all great toppings, but you can experiment with others as you wish. The toppings are usually arranged in the center of the pancake rather than evenly all over, for a unique and attractive presentation.
Eat Immediately: Although you can warm these up later and they are delicious, they are most delicious right out of the skillet. When the edges are golden brown, whip it out of there, add whatever toppings you want and dig right in!

Nutrition

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