Fainá Garbanzo Flatbread Food

FAINá: GARBANZO FLATBREAD

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the garbanzo bean flour with the salt, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the Parmesan cheese (if using) and a generous amount of ground black pepper.
• Whisk in 1 3/4 cups of water until the mixture is well blended. Set the batter aside for about 30 minutes at room temperature to let the garbanzo flour absorb some of the water.
• Preheat the oven to 450 F. When it is hot, place the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil in a 12-inch pizza pan. Heat the pan in the oven until very hot.
• Gradually stir remaining water into the batter mixture until it is thin enough to pour. Remove the hot pizza pan from oven, and immediately pour the batter into the pan. The batter should make a thin layer, about 1/4 inch. Place the pan back in the oven and bake until fainá is golden and crispy about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven.
• Cut the flatbread into pieces and serve hot. This recipe uses a 12-inch pizza pan. You can use a smaller pan to make thicker fainá, which will need a slightly longer baking time. Note that you will need the batter to rest at least 30 minutes before you bake it. It can be rested for longer, even overnight. While in South America this flatbread is served alongside or on top of pizza, it is also delicious to use as the base for pizza toppings. After baking the fainá, top it with cheese, meats, or vegetables and return it to the oven until the cheese has melted.

HOW TO MAKE FARINATA

Steps:

• Combine garbanzo flour and water in a bowl; whisk until batter is smooth. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a plate and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Skim as much foam as possible from top of batter. Whisk salt, rosemary, and 3 tablespoons olive oil into batter.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).
• Place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat and heat until smoking hot. Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil in skillet and swirl to coat bottom of skillet with oil. Continue to heat until oil shimmers and a wisp of smoke rises from oil.
• Quickly pour batter into hot oil; carefully transfer skillet to preheated oven.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cake is browned and crusty, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer immediately to a plate, cut into wedges, and serve hot. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper.

FAINá (CHICKPEA FLOUR PANCAKE)

Steps:

• Double-mill the dried chickpeas, once very coarse and a second time fine. You can also use store bought chickpea flour.
• Mix in the water and the optional sourdough starter. Cover and let the batter sit a minimum of 2 hours and ideally overnight.
• For a not-sour pancake, don't add the sourdough starter and limit the rest time to 12 hours. For a mildly sour/fermented pancake, add the sourdough starter but refrigerate the batter overnight, or skip the sourdough starter and rest the batter for about 24 hours. For a very sour pancake, add the sourdough starter and leave the batter at room temperature overnight, or skip the sourdough starter and leave the batter at room temperature for 3-4 days.
• After the rest, add the salt and pepper to the batter and mix thoroughly.
• Preheat your oven to 450F, with one shelf below the middle and another shelf higher than the middle of your oven.
• Put the olive oil into a cold 10-inch skillet, cast iron or stainless steel, and heat it on the stove. Don't let the oil get to the point of smoking. I have an infrared thermometer and found 360F worked well.
• Add the batter to the skillet and let it cook until the edges curl in a bit, 1-3 minutes.
• Carefully transfer the skillet to the lower shelf of your hot oven.
• Bake for about 25 minutes (10 minutes on the lower shelf and another 10-15 minutes on the higher shelf).
• Use a metal spatula to separate the fainá from the base of the skillet; then leave it in the skillet to cool for about 10 minutes.
• Transfer to a cutting board and serve. Fainá reheats well in a toaster oven or on a fry pan, but is also tasty cold.