Serve this soft, tender chickpea focaccia as an appetizer with a glass of wine. Topped with summertime veggies and herbs, and perfect for nibbling on!
Marcella Hazan, author of The Classic Italian Cookbook and Marcella Cucina is regarded as the queen of Italian cooking in North America. After making her incredible Fried Eggplant Balls with Melted Mozzarella Center (Polpette di Melanzane) recipe, I was inclined to crown her queen, king, prince, or whatever title she desired.
When I spotted her recipe for soft chickpea focaccia (farinata), using chickpea flour, I was sold. The original recipe called for topping the focaccia with onions. However, with a overactive zucchini and rosemary plants in the garden, I made a few substitutions. As Marcella describes in her book, farinata is a thin, very soft focaccia. It is like eating a flavorful, savory hummus in the form of a bread. Divine! This is perfect as an appetizer, served with a glass of wine.
The main ingredient for farinata is chickpea flour, which is used in a variety of ethnic cuisines. If you have ever eaten Indian pakoras (fritters), Middle Eastern falafel, French Socca or Italian (Ligurian) Panissa, then you have sampled chickpea flour. It can be found in well-stocked supermarkets, but is available in Indian markets for a fraction of the price.
How to make chickpea focaccia (farinata):
In a medium bowl, combine 2 ½ cups water, 1 teaspoon salt,
½ pound (about 1 ⅔ cups) fine chickpea flour,
and 2 tablespoons olive oil.
Stir well with a whisk.
Let the mixture rest at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours.
Cut part of a zucchini into 12 very thin slices (about 1 ½ ounces), lay the slices on a piece of paper towel in a single layer, and sprinkler with salt. Let the zucchini rest for 30 minutes so that it releases much of its water. Dab the zucchini dry with a paper towel.
Roast a red bell pepper, remove the charred skin, and cut half of the pepper into very thin slices. Set the other half aside for another use. If you are unsure how to roast a bell pepper, check out my tutorial.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Strip about 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary leaves from a spring of rosemary and stir the rosemary into the chickpea flour mixture.
Brush the bottom of an 11 by 7 by 2-inch nonstick pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Pour the thin batter into the prepared pan and place it in the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the mixture starts to set. Lay the zucchini and roasted red pepper slices evenly over the batter and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until the edges turn brown and become crisp.
Remove the focaccia from the oven, let cool for a few minutes, and gently remove from the pan. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Cut into about 12 pieces.
This is best served warm, but will still have great flavor if left at room temperature for a couple of hours. It will not, however, taste good the next day.
Printable Recipe
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email below & we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week!
Soft Chickpea Focaccia (Farinata) with Zucchini
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more for zucchini
- ½ pound fine chickpea flour (about 1 ⅔ cups)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
- 12 very thin slices zucchini (about 1 ½ ounces)
- ½ roasted red bell pepper thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine water, salt, chickpea flour, and 2tbsp olive oil. Stir well with a whisk. Let the mixture rest at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours.
- Lay the zucchini slices on a piece of paper towel in a single layer, and sprinkler with salt. Let the zucchini rest for 30 minutes so that it releases much of its water. Dab the zucchini dry with a paper towel.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the bottom of an 11 by 7 by 2-inch nonstick pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Stir the rosemary into the chickpea flour mixture. Pour the thin batter into the prepared pan and place it in the oven.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the mixture starts to set. Lay the zucchini and roasted red pepper slices evenly over the batter and bake for an additional 20minutes, or until the edges turn brown and become crisp.
- Remove the focaccia from the oven, let cool for a few minutes, and gently remove from the pan. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Cut into about 12 pieces.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
PB
I actually made this contrary to most commenters - and unfortunately it did NOT come out well. Have been making socca (which we usually have in Nice when there) which is tricky at home but doable but was intrigued by the promise of a focaccia-like result along with the possibility of a topping. And while it did go against my better judgement, I stuck to the low heat and long cook time. That the pan seemed too small made sense if you were to achieve something thicker and softer like a focaccia - but no such luck. I ended up with a dense, 1,5 cm thick slab of baked chickpea flour that wasn't even crisp on the outside. Definitely not worth it - will go back to the normal procedure using a larger pan, a much warmer oven and way shorter cook time. Don't usually comment but when a recipe seems flawed to me and I cannot see that I actually went wrong somewhere which of course happens from time to time, I think others should at least be warned that the result might not be guaranteed. Of course there may be factors unknown to me - possibly the type/quality of chickpea flour - but with my usual stock this does not work.
RO
I recently tasted this focaccia for the first time at a holiday party. Ah-mazing! Someone else at the party brought some shrimp fritters with an incredible sweet/spicy chili sauce. As I am a spicy food queen, I added some of this sauce to the still warm focaccia and WOW!!! This will be my go-to recipe for my spice loving & adventurous eating friends. Both are just SO delicious together and on their own. The sauce is just 1 c. fresh chili paste with garlic (@ any Asian market or even your own market's ethnic aisle) and 1/2 c. sugar. Mix together & reduce by half over low heat, stirring constantly. Serve along side of the focaccia -- which, BTW, I did NOT incorporate the rosemary into the mix but rather chopped finely and sprinkled on top before baking. So much better!
Michel in Quebec
Oh, looks very good. Yum, yum.
If I was to make this Focaccia, then I would surely experiment with adding powdered cumin, maybe curcuma/turmeric, possibly ginger, and, last, but never least, cayenne. It would make a sort of curried Focaccia.
Another variation might be to add oregano & basil, probably also parsley and maybe cilantro/corriander, or thyme, along with the herbs/spices your recipe specifies. These would work ok with rosemary, I think.
All would ideally be fresh & chopped, but if I didn't have fresh and did have dried, then I would use this. Fresh is better, but it isn't always available.
And maybe adding some mozarella, cheddar or parmesan cheese, grated (and organic), would also help for another good recipe variation. Also adding some tomatoes, too. And what about garlic? Hmmmm. Definitely garlic.
Then lightly roast or bake all of this.
Ohhh, I'll be over for dinner tonight. Rendez-vous is set. I hope you're open for self-invitations, anyway. And how much do you charge for Focaccia made upon special request, btw? 🙂
I'm joking, of course. That might not be true if we were nextdoor neighbours, but we most surely aren't.
Making breads or anything like that is one of the culinary exercises I still haven't begun to try. I've made excellent, nutrition-packed pancakes and cookies, but still haven't tried making breads, bread substitutes, banana or zucchini breads, or doughs for making dessert pies, meat or veg. pies, quiche, or pizzas. This would be great to know how to do, but a problem is the amount of time required. I live alone and only have myself to feed, so motivation doesn't come easily. People with families have a lot to motivate them. Cooking for multiple people is more motivational, and I've been complimented when I did that, but have been living alone and cooking only for myself for many years now, so I usually use the lazy-man's way and just buy things already made; for desserts, pizza, occasional sandwiches, ....
You married people are lucky to have the needed motivation. Or maybe you're a chef who makes his/her income from working for a restaurant, bakery, .... Or maybe you have both situations. I need a kicks in the pant seat area.
marla
Not sure how I missed this, but this chickpea focaccia looks unbelievable!