Helen Rosner's recent (March 18) restaurant review in the New Yorker encouraged readers to "have a slice of crispy farinata, a lacy-edged chickpea-flour pancake aromatic with rosemary" while dining at 'Misipasta' and we thought that sounded fabulous.
Corning, California is too far from Grand Street in Brooklyn to indulge in this and other tasty bites at Chef Missy Robbins' restaurant, however, reading Ms. Rosner's review inspired us to make farinata at home. How could we have been in the food business for so many decades and yet never have come across this in dining, travel, and reading? Farinata has now firmly entered our hearts and is a permanent part of Donald's in house menu.
The ingredients and process are ridiculously simple, and our plan to photograph a stack of these were thwarted when we kept eating them warm from the pan. This recipe will yield 6 pancakes, più o meno, (more or less). Buon appetito!
Everything you've read about farinata is true; immediately turned out from a cast iron pan is the best. Make sure your cast iron is well seasoned so the pancakes don’t stick, and don't skimp on the olive oil that’s added to the pan as this will help to keep the pancake from sticking as well as add a nice crispiness. The first pancake might stick a tiny bit on the bottom, however, the subsequent ones will release much more easily. We recommend using your smaller 8” pan (the one that measures 9" across the top) and a 1/2 cup of batter per pancake. This will give you the right crispness and allow for easy handling when taking the pancake out of the pan.
This batter can be made a day ahead of time and refrigerated, if desired. The batter will separate, however, can be brought back together quickly with a good stir.
Traditional Cooking Method (stove top start, oven finish)
Whisk together lukewarm water and chickpea flour in a large bowl until smooth. Cover the bowl with a plate and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Skim off as much foam as possible from the top of batter. Whisk 3 tablespoons olive oil, kosher salt, and rosemary into batter until well combined.
Preheat the oven to 500° F (260ºC).
Heat an 8” cast iron skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into the skillet and swirl to coat the bottom. Continue to heat until oil shimmers and almost reaches the smoke point. The idea here is that the batter should start to sizzle as soon as it hits the oil.
Quickly pour 1/2 cup of the batter into hot oil; carefully transfer the skillet to the preheated oven. Caution: make sure to use oven mitts at all times during this process—especially when taking this pan out of the oven. Note: You’ll have to stir between pours as the mixture will separate.
Bake in the preheated oven until pancake is well browned and crispy for 12 to 15 minutes. Peek halfway through to make sure it isn’t over browning or burning. The pancakes are thin and cook quickly. Turn 90° if needed to ensure even browning.
Immediately after removing the pan from the oven, loosen the edges of the pancake with a spatula and then transfer to a board and cut into wedges. Some folks prefer to rustically tear the pancake. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper and a nice finishing flake salt. Serve and enjoy immediately.
The bottom of your pancake will be brown and very crispy. Here is a photo of the underside.
Alternative stove top (no oven) method
If you’d rather not crank up your oven to 500° F, this farinata recipe will also work made solely on the stove top; just be aware that the end result will be more cakey and not nearly as crispy. Set your stovetop to a medium heat, and turn your pancake halfway through the cooking process. Take care to not burn the bottom when trying this method. Lift the edge of the pancake about 5 minutes into the cooking process to see how brown it is. Turn as soon as the bottom is well browned. Cook the other side for about 3 minutes more or until that side is well browned. You might get some oil splatter when turning, so be careful. [Tried, but not photographed].
Recipe Note
Once your pancakes stop sticking you can try thinner versions if you'd like. Donald started making some crepe-like version this way on the stove top which come out more crispy. These are so thin they won't work using the oven method. In any event, he doubled the recipe and tried the various methods and all were delicious.
We ate these with just a sprinkle of flake salt, and while farinata is very satisfying by itself we also enjoyed some with some Chico Honey after dinner. The chickpea (garbanzo) flour taste is very mild, rather nutty and sweet.
In comparing recipes between Italian home or restaurant cooks and some Americans, we noticed that some Americans used less water to flour in the mix as well as a more generous pour per pancake. The "American" versions yielded a more thick and cakey result looking rather a lot like polenta or even shortbread in one case. Our version is offered to be a bit closer to what you'd find in Liguria: crispy edges and slightly creamy/barely cakey center...and maybe even reminiscent of what you'd find in a nice Italian place in Brooklyn.
Hat tip to Chef Robbins and Helen Rosner for the inspiration.
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