One of the best single-dish meals ever, chickpea flatbread with artichokes (cecina / farinata). An ancient, plant-based, protein-rich, healthy recipe.
What do you call it? Do you like it too? It’s so simple to prepare, even with cooked vegetables left over in the fridge.
Cecina (in Tuscany) or farinata (in Liguria) are the same thing, while farifrittata is cooked in a skillet, so the ratios between water and flour are different. The ingredients remain the same: chickpea flour, water, extra virgin olive oil, and salt.
How do you prepare farinata?
Farinata is a typical recipe from Genoa and it is baked in the oven. It has very ancient roots; in fact it was already prepared in the times of the Greeks and Romans.
Legend has it that the first time it was made by accident. During the era of the Maritime Republics in 1284 Genoa defeated Pisa in the Battle of Meloria.
The victors’ ships returning to Genoa ran into a storm. Some barrels of oil and chickpea flour were soaked with seawater. Food was scarce and they couldn’t afford to throw that bounty away.
So the sailors salvaged the oil and wet flour and made fritters which they laid out to dry in the sun. When they arrived home they refined the recipe and, to taunt the defeated, they called it the ‘gold of Pisa’.
How are farinate prepared? General rules:
Farinata, cecina, fainè, fainà, depending on the region are always prepared the same way: for every part chickpea flour, add 3 or 4 parts water in a bowl, salt, and stir vigorously to dissolve all the lumps.
Let it rest for at least one hour but even overnight, outside the fridge so fermentation starts and the batter becomes more digestible.
Skim off the little foam that forms on the surface. Traditionally, a tin-lined copper pan called a testo is oiled and the empty pan is put in the wood-fired oven for a few minutes so the farinata will release more easily.
Take the pan out, pour the batter starting from the center and turning quickly so that the poured oil comes to the surface. Level it well and bake for 20 minutes at 482°F.
We instead use a pizza pan: we oil it very well and preheat it in the oven, then continue as above.
See other cecine and farifrittate here:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 4 Hours
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients — Chickpea Flatbread with Artichokes
- 1 1/4 cups chickpea flour
- 3 3/4 cups cups water
- 2 1/3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- to taste unrefined sea salt
- 4 artichokes (sautéed)
Tools
- 1 Baking pan
Steps — Chickpea Flatbread with Artichokes
Mix chickpea flour with water—it’s best to use a blender to avoid lumps that the flour makes. Let rest for at least four hours outside the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 428°F (convection).
After the resting time, skim off the foam that formed on the surface of the batter, and add the remaining ingredients: half of the oil, the salt, and the cooked, thinly sliced artichokes.
Oil the pan with the remaining oil, spread it well, and pour the batter. Sometimes the batter sticks to the pan, so if you prefer you can use parchment paper.
Bake for about 25 minutes until nicely golden — be careful not to burn it: check, lower the temperature, or cover with foil if needed.
Remove from the oven, cut into slices and serve.
Tips from Timo e Lenticchie
We understand that if you have the traditional testo for farinata you already know how to make it perfectly; I don’t have one so I make it in a pan. The biggest problem is always understanding when it’s fully cooked and how to prevent it from sticking.
We understand that if you have the traditional testo for farinata you already know how to make it perfectly; I don’t have one so I make it in a pan. The biggest problem is always understanding when it’s fully cooked and how to prevent it from sticking.
