Farinata

In Livorno, they make the farinata into a sandwich and it is called ‘cinque e cinque’ –  originally five lire of bread and five lire of farinata.

SERVES 4

As the batter needs to rest overnight for the gluten to form it’s best to begin the process the day before you intend to eat it. Once the batter has been made, the total prep time is 10 minutes with a cooking time of 20 minutes. All one needs is a good oven tray and an oven that can heat to 240°C.

TOP TIPS:

Put your tray in the oven so that it is hot when you add the batter.

STEPS

Pour the chick pea flour into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Sprinkle in the salt and then using a whisk incorporate the water and a couple of spoonsful of extra virgin olive oil into the flour.

Beat the mix well and then leave to rest for several hours, preferably overnight. The mix should be slightly thicker than a pancake mix. 

Pour some extra virgin olive oil into a non-stick oven tray to cover the base in a thin film and place the oven tray in a hot oven (240°C). 

Remove the needles from the rosemary branches, roughly chop them and add to the chick pea mixture.

Grind in some black pepper.

When the oil is hot, but not smoking, remove from the oven. Remove any impurities which have come to the surface of the batter, then whisk again and ladle in some of the chick pea batter to a depth of about 11⁄2 cm. Return the tin to the oven and cook until it has set and become golden. About fifteen minutes.

Fresh from the oven sprinkle over some coarse salt and more freshly ground black pepper.