Chestnut Farinata
Farinata (also known as socca) is a savory pancake traditionally made with chickpea flour in the Riviera (coastal regions of Northwest Italy and Southeast France). Farinata means “made of flour”. I made some with a chestnut flour blend (farinata di castagna), and the result is savory and deeply satisfying. Some days I eat it for lunch, and I don’t feel like I need to eat dinner. Some days I don’t know what to make for dinner, and I make this. A standard 👌
by Noah Simon
Ingredients:
Makes 4 servings of deep-dish farinata in a 10” cast-iron skillet. If you cut the recipe in half, it fits well in a 6” cast-iron skillet. If you want a more thin-crust farinata, size up the pan.
1 cup fine chestnut flour. If you want freedom from clumps, sift the flour.
1 cup chickpea flour. If you don’t have chickpea flour you can use 100% chestnut flour; see water adjustment below.
1.75 cups cold water. If you use 100% chestnut flour, reduce water to 1.5 cups.
6 tbsp apple cider vinegar
6 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tsp salt
1 large onion (or equivalent), chopped coarse
(optional) rosemary, fennel, any other herbs you like
Steps:
Pre heat an oven (or a good toaster oven) to 425° F. Put the cast-iron pan in the oven while it’s heating up.
Add the water to a mixing bowl.
Add the flour and mix vigorously until fully integrated. A whisk, egg beater, immersion blender, or cappuccino frother can all serve you well — or in a pinch, a fork and some elbow grease.
Add and incorporate the vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Mix vigorously.
Add the chopped onion, along with rosemary, fennel, any other herbs you like. Mix vigorously.
Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven. Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. When it starts to shimmer, carefully pour the batter into hot oiled pan and bake for ~25-30 minutes. It is done when the top is getting crispy and golden and the edges look like they will burn if you keep going.