Four things are enough: chickpea flour, water, oil and salt. And yet farinata is one of those dishes that, around here, either come out beautifully or don't come out at all.
It is poor man's food, born in the sciamadde, the old neighbourhood fry-shops that baked over wood for the whole street. In Oneglia we want it thin and crisp, with an almost-burnt edge and a barely soft heart. No frills: it is the cooking of people who threw nothing away, and fed a family with a handful of chickpea flour.
Farinata fresh from the oven, cut into wedges.
The real recipe is the one below, and it has one rule you don't touch: three parts water to one of flour. From there it is all patience and heat. The batter has to rest for hours, so the chickpea flour relaxes; then the hottest oven you can manage, a thin pan, and you watch until it takes on that golden, scorched colour. Make it this way at least once: it is a slow gesture, the kind that fills the house with scent.
Then, I'll say it without shame: if you are in a hurry, there is a shortcut. The farinata mix by Fratelli Carli, which here in Imperia you find at the Emporio, lets you skip the weighing and the long rest. I've put it among the variations, at the end. It isn't cheating, it is a good farinata in half the time.
And if instead you want to eat it without turning on the oven, made properly by someone who has done it for a lifetime, I'll tell you where to go in Oneglia.
- 1Pour the chickpea flour into the water in a stream, whisking well so it doesn't clump.
- 2Cover and let it rest at room temperature for at least 4 hours, better overnight.
- 3Skim off the foam that has formed on the surface.
- 4Salt it, add two tablespoons of oil and stir.
- 5Heat the oven as high as it goes, 250°C with the grill. Grease the pan well with the remaining oil.
- 6Pour in the batter: it should stay thin, 3-4 mm.
- 7Bake on the top shelf for about 15 minutes, until golden and streaked with brown. Pepper, and serve hot.