Name: Farinata with Sage, Olives, and Onion
Cook time: 1 hr
Total time: 2 hr 5 min
Yield: Serves 6 as an hors d'oeuvre (3 farinata)
Ingredients: 1 cup chick-pea flour; 2 cups cold water; 1 1/4 teaspoons salt; 4 1/2 tablespoons olive oil; 1/2 large white onion, thinly sliced; 30 Niçoise olives, pitted; 45 small or 30 large fresh sage leaves

Farinata with Sage, Olives, and OnionRomulo Yanes

Ever since R.C Van Dyne from Wilmington, NC tasted farinata in Alessandria, Italy, he has been wanting to make it. We obtained this recipe from Rose Pistola restaurant in San Francisco, where they serve their own farinata.

Farinata is a thin, crisp, pizzalike pancake made from chick-pea flour. When we called Rose Pistola, we were thrilled to learn that the recipe had already been reworked for the home cook by Peggy Knickerbocker, coauthor with chef Reed Hearon of The Rose Pistola Cookbook: 140 Recipes from San Francisco's Favorite North Beach Restaurant (out October, 1999 from Broadway Books).

The following recipe makes three farinata, but they must be baked one at a time. We suggest opening a bottle of wine, hanging out in the kitchen with friends, and eating the farinata as they come out of the oven.

For best results, use a 10-inch seasoned cast-iron round griddle, about 3/8-inch deep, that can hold about 1 cup batter. Farinata can be made in a regular cast-iron skillet, but it won't be quite as crisp or easy to remove.

Recipe notes

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