A crispy savory chickpea pancake
We’re Fanny and Greta, dear friends with deep backgrounds in sustainable food. This is a space for the food lovers, home cooks, would-be home cooks and anyone who needs a bit of inspiration and gentle guidance in their family kitchen.
Santa Anna•
April 3, 2025
Though farinata is really is better after the batter is allowed to sit for a few hours, we’ve found that it actually fits pretty nicely into the rhythm of a chaotic family kitchen. Whisk the batter together in the morning—it takes all of 45 seconds—and then it’ll be in tip top shape by the time you start dinner prep.
We love farinata equally as a standalone snack and as an alternative for pasta, grains or potatoes at dinner. Eat it alongside a thicket of dressed greens, or some simple vegetables (these carrots! Or confited tomatoes! Or braised cabbage!), baked fish or stewed meat, or mine the contents of your fridge to set up a DIY farinata bar with various cheeses, condiments (pesto, tapenades, chili crisps, etc.) and herbs as potential toppings. Just make sure to get the rest of your meal organized when it’s in the oven—farinata is best served hot!
Put the flour (1 cup) in a bowl, then pour the water (1 ½ cups) in in a steady stream, whisking as you go, until the batter is completely smooth with no lumps. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours (up to 12).
When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425 °F and remove the batter from the fridge. Generously grease an ~ 8x10" non-stick pan with a few glugs of olive oil: you want a thin layer to completely cover the bottom of the pan. Use a paper towel or a kitchen brush to grease the sides of the pan, too.
Just before you pour the batter into the pan, add olive oil (2 Tbsp) and a big pinch of salt to the batter in the bowl and whisk to combine. Pour batter into the pan and place in the oven.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating once after about 15 minutes, until the edges are visibly crispy and the top is golden brown. Top with flaky salt (freshly ground black pepper is great, too) and dig in.
This recipe doubles and triples beautifully, just make sure to grab a bigger pan—you want the batter to come up no more than ¾” high in the pan.
If you can’t manage to make it ahead of time, though, it’ll still turn out well. Just whisk, pour and pop it in the oven.
If you only have a pan with a history of stickiness, you can also line the bottom of your vessel with parchment paper first and then pour the olive oil.
