chickpea pancake with rosemary

farinata al rosmarino

The standard Ligurian farinata pans are thick, round, flat copper pans, lined with zinc. They are roughly 40 cm in diameter. You can use a thick-bottomed, stainless-steel frying pan, but it must have an ovenproof handle. If using a frying pan, you can make the farinata in batches.

for 6

300 g chickpea flour

1 litre tepid water

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon Maldon salt

extra virgin olive oil

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked from the stalks

Put the water into a large bowl. Gently pour in the chickpea flour, whisking to avoid lumps. Add the pepper and salt, stir, and allow to sit in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/Gas 8.

Remove the foam from the top of the batter and stir in 110 ml olive oil. Pour a further tablespoon of oil into the farinata pan, or frying pan, and put into the oven until the oil is just smoking. Quickly remove and pour in the chickpea batter. The farinata should be very thin – no more than 1 cm deep. Sprinkle the rosemary leaves over the top, and return to the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes until the top is brown and crisp and the middle is still soft.