Farinata is a savory Italian pancake made with chickpea flour, often served as street food with pizza toppings. It has a dense, crackling crust and soft underside, and can be made at home with a simple batter. It originated in Liguria and is also known as calentita or panissa.
Farinata is a type of baked Italian pancake, or more accurately a focaccia, as pancakes tend to be sweet and farinata is a savory food. In general, it is considered a street food and is closely related to pizza, often served with pizza toppings or used to wrap pizza-like ingredients. When traveling in the Mediterranean regions of Italy, focaccia is often offered as street food. It can also be done at home.
The origins are found in Liguria, in north-western Italy. It is also sometimes called calentita, or panissa when fried, especially in Gibraltar, a region of Europe that has been heavily influenced by Italian cuisine. Farinata is generally viewed as a snack, with street vendors making individual large pieces and cutting up pieces as customers request.
The basis of a farinata is chickpea flour. Chickpeas are very popular in regional Italian cooking and give focaccia a rich, nutty flavor that you couldn’t make with wheat. In some places, the bread is also made with cornmeal. The flour is mixed with water, oil and salt to form a thick batter which is cooked in a heavy skillet in a very hot oven. As the batter cooks, it forms a dense, crackling crust, with a soft, tender underside.
The texture is relatively soft, with crunchy, cracked bits from the cooking process. It is often served plain or with a sprinkle of onions, and other ingredients may be offered as well. Sometimes, the bread is made into a stuffed flatbread filled with ingredients like ground beef, cheese, or rich tomato sauces. In these cases, porridge often becomes a sit-down food, as it’s too messy to eat out of the way.
To make porridge at home, whisk together one cup of flour, two teaspoons of salt, two tablespoons of olive oil, and one and three-quarters cup of water. Leave the dough at room temperature for four hours or rest in the refrigerator overnight. Meanwhile, heat an oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius) and lightly oil a heavy skillet, such as a cast iron cooking pan. Pour the batter into the pan and cook until the bread is browned and crispy, turning it over and lightly oiling the pan again before pouring in more batter and repeating the process. Serve Hot At a party, cooked condiments can be arranged in small bowls for guests to season on their bread.
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