Farinata: What it is and how to make it

I really like to serve farinata when I have company. It’s something different that often times my guests have never heard of, let alone tried. 

Farinata is a savory flatbread. It’s made with a simple batter of chickpea flour, water, olive oil, rosemary and salt, and is baked until crispy around the edges.  In the Italian coastal region of Liguria, farinata is considered a snack food. In other Italian regions, farinata is referred to as cecina or torta di ceci. In France, it’s called socca.

I first had farinata in Italy when I was with a friend and we were exploring an antique market. We stopped because we were hungry and there were a lot of people hanging out on the street near a vendor who was making farinata. Everyone seemed to be enjoying this tasty street food. My friend and I thought it was delicious. We were so pleased with our newly discovered snack! After doing a little research, I was happy to discover that the ingredients are simple and that farinata is easy to make.

The ingredients for this recipe are:

• chickpea flour
• water
• olive oil
• fresh rosemary
• salt

This is the chickpea flour I used to make the farinata.

Where to buy chickpea flour

You can buy Anthony’s chickpea flour brand on Amazon. The Bob’s Mill brand is sold online as well, Chickpea flour and garbanzo bean flour are the same thing.

You’ll also find chickpea flour at some grocery stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts and Natural Grocer. Most of the stores carry the Bob’s Mill brand.

Besan flour, which is made of chickpeas, will also work in this recipe. I’ve used it many times to make farinata. You can buy besan flour at Indian markets.

How to Make Farinata

For this recipe you start by whisking the water and chickpea flour in a bowl until the batter is smooth. Skim off any foam on the surface and discard. Cover and set aside for 2 hours.

After the batter has rested, preheat the oven to 500 degrees. You’ll need to put a 12 inch cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat as well. Don’t add any oil to the pan yet.

Once the oven has reached 500 degrees, add olive oil, rosemary and salt to the batter and mix well. The batter will be thin.

Open the oven door. Slowly pull out the oven rack with the skillet, using protective mitts (be very careful not to burn yourself),and far enough out to add the remaining olive oil into the skillet, then pour the farinata batter directly into the skillet. Carefully slide the rack back in and close the oven door.

Bake the farinata mixture for approximately 20-25 minutes or until it starts turning golden brown and pulls away from the edges a bit. Once it’s done, take the skillet out of the oven. Run a spatula around the edges and underneath to loosen and slide the farinata onto a cutting board.

How to Serve Farinata

Cut the farinata into wedges. You serve the farinata while still warm with a sprinkle of salt. In Italy, it’s street food and you eat a piece as a snack right after it’s been baked.

You can also serve farinata as an appetizer, alongside a salad, for breakfast, and even as a filling for a vegan sandwich.

Farinata Toppings

Farinata toppings are baked in the batter. Onions are really delicious option.

Before you pour the farinata batter into the cast iron skillet, add some thinly sliced red onion to the hot olive oil. They’ll quickly start to sizzle.

Then pour the farinata batter over the onions.

It’s very good like this.

Additional herb options include:

• Sage
• Zataar
• Oregano
• Cumin

This blog post is about farinata and how to make it. It will tell you where to buy chickpea flour, how to serve it, and offer optional farinata topping ideas. Farinata is vegan and it’s gluten free. Enjoy!

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