Free of gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, corn, nuts
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Chickpea flour can usually be found fairly cheaply in the South Asian / Indian section of many larger supermarkets. Chickpeas of course have lots of protein and fibre and are super healthy, and some of you already know I use them a lot in recipes like Marinated Chickpea Salad, Chickpea and Sweet Potato Burgers, and Chickpea and Sweet Potato Soup.
So it makes sense that I would also like chickpea flour, no? And I do. It has a nice, nutty flavour and it sticks together better than most other GF flours.
I like to buy big ol' bags of chickpea / garbanzo flour and make it into the fried flatbread that I described in my book Living with Oral Allergy Syndrome. But sometimes I also like to make it into this baked, Italian style flatbread known as Socca, or Farinata. It's very simple to make, and the result is very tasty and filling.
I also like to smother this farinata with the Sweet Pea Spread and Dip that I posted last week(sorry, ironically, I'll be traveling in Greece when that recipe is
scheduled to be posted and, will be in Italy when this recipe is scheduled to go live, so I can't share the hyperlink here until I'm back in the
country!). The link above is clickable now :)
As a note to beware of: While this chickpea flour flatbread is very, very easy to make and naturally vegan and gluten free, you do need to budget a couple of hours to let it sit. This helps the flavours to blend and the chickpea flour to absorb water and perhaps even ferment just a little.
Farinata / Socca bread can be made very plain, with no sundried tomatoes, etc, but I usually like to add something to flavour it. Sometimes I add blanched, chopped spinach or kale, or sliced olives. It just gives it that little extra something, I think.
Ingredients for Vegan, Gluten Free Chickpea Farinata (makes 1 - 10" skillet)
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (not packed in oil. If using oil-packed tomatoes, skip adding the water and soaking)
1/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cup chickpea / garbanzo bean flour
1 1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh minced rosemary (or 1/2 Tbsp dried)
1 tsp dried onion flakes
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
pinch of black pepper
Directions
1. Combine tomatoes and boiling water in a small bowl. Let sit 20 minutes to hydrate tomatoes.
2. Combine chickpea flour, lukewarm water, tomatoes and any remaining water. Whisk until smooth and let sit at room temp for 2 - 4 hours. Scrape off any foam that might set on top before adding in sea salt, rosemary, onion flakes, and 2 Tbsp of olive oil.
3. Preheat oven to 400F and grease a 10" cast iron skillet, or 9x9" square baking pan, with remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Heat skillet until just beginning to smoke. Pour in chickpea mix and bake 25-30 minutes, until top is beginning to brown and bread is set.
The inside will have a crusty top and a slightly chewy texture inside and will look like this:
Eat plain, smother with Pea and Spinach Dip, or dip into a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Have you ever used chickpea flour? What do you do with it?
Get it in print from:
.png)
Chickpea flour can usually be found fairly cheaply in the South Asian / Indian section of many larger supermarkets. Chickpeas of course have lots of protein and fibre and are super healthy, and some of you already know I use them a lot in recipes like Marinated Chickpea Salad, Chickpea and Sweet Potato Burgers, and Chickpea and Sweet Potato Soup.
So it makes sense that I would also like chickpea flour, no? And I do. It has a nice, nutty flavour and it sticks together better than most other GF flours.
I like to buy big ol' bags of chickpea / garbanzo flour and make it into the fried flatbread that I described in my book Living with Oral Allergy Syndrome. But sometimes I also like to make it into this baked, Italian style flatbread known as Socca, or Farinata. It's very simple to make, and the result is very tasty and filling.
I also like to smother this farinata with the Sweet Pea Spread and Dip that I posted last week
As a note to beware of: While this chickpea flour flatbread is very, very easy to make and naturally vegan and gluten free, you do need to budget a couple of hours to let it sit. This helps the flavours to blend and the chickpea flour to absorb water and perhaps even ferment just a little.
Farinata / Socca bread can be made very plain, with no sundried tomatoes, etc, but I usually like to add something to flavour it. Sometimes I add blanched, chopped spinach or kale, or sliced olives. It just gives it that little extra something, I think.
Ingredients for Vegan, Gluten Free Chickpea Farinata (makes 1 - 10" skillet)
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (not packed in oil. If using oil-packed tomatoes, skip adding the water and soaking)
1/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cup chickpea / garbanzo bean flour
1 1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh minced rosemary (or 1/2 Tbsp dried)
1 tsp dried onion flakes
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
pinch of black pepper
Directions
1. Combine tomatoes and boiling water in a small bowl. Let sit 20 minutes to hydrate tomatoes.
2. Combine chickpea flour, lukewarm water, tomatoes and any remaining water. Whisk until smooth and let sit at room temp for 2 - 4 hours. Scrape off any foam that might set on top before adding in sea salt, rosemary, onion flakes, and 2 Tbsp of olive oil.
3. Preheat oven to 400F and grease a 10" cast iron skillet, or 9x9" square baking pan, with remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Heat skillet until just beginning to smoke. Pour in chickpea mix and bake 25-30 minutes, until top is beginning to brown and bread is set.
The inside will have a crusty top and a slightly chewy texture inside and will look like this:
Eat plain, smother with Pea and Spinach Dip, or dip into a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Have you ever used chickpea flour? What do you do with it?
If you find yourself struggling with multiple food allergies, you might want to check out my book, Living with Oral Allergy Syndrome
Get it in print from:
Amazon.com * Amazon.ca * Barnes & Noble * Indigo * Black Bond Books *
or ask at your local bookstore to order it for you!
This post was shared on the following great link parties:
Hearth and Soul Hop, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Happy, Healthy, Green and Natural Hop, Gluten Free Fridays,
Question about step 2 of the Socca recipe: Do I let the batter sit for 2 - 4 hours BEFORE I scrape off the foam and add the seasonings, or do the seasonings go in before the batter sits?
ReplyDeleteHi, yes, I do things in the order I've written them. Let the batter sit, then scrap off the foam, then add the seasonings. hope that helps :)
DeleteLooks delicious, thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop, pinning.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and sharing, Swathi :)
DeleteHi Danielle,
ReplyDeleteWhat healthy and delectable creation! I love the marriage of pea and spinach dip with the chickpea flour bread! Thank you for sharing this wonderful Sundried Tomato Farinata with us at the Healthy, Happy, Green and Natural Party Blog Hop! I’m pinning and sharing!
Thanks, Deborah! It's one of my new favorite lunches ;)
DeleteHi. Can I use anything else if I can't eat chickpea? Not rice.
ReplyDeleteHi Lesley, unfortunately I don't think you can. Although I haven't tried using another flour, the great thing about chickpea flour is that it sticks together really well, unlike a lot of other GF flours that crumble without some kind of gum to hold them together.
Delete