Farinata

This article is about the food. For the 13th-century Italian aristocrat, seeFarinata degli Uberti.

Farinata

Alternative names	Farinata di ceci,torta di ceci,fainé,fainá,cecìna,socca
Type	Pancake
Region or state	Liguria;Provence
Main ingredients	Chickpea flour,water,olive oil
Media:Farinata

Farinata(Italian:[fariˈnaːta]),socca(French:[ˈsɔkka]),farinata di ceci,torta di ceci,fainé,fainá,cecìnaorcadeis a type of thin, unleavenedpancakeorcrêpemade fromchickpea flour.

Farinatais a typical preparation of the northwest Mediterranean coast; inLiguriait is namedfarinata,inNicesoccaand inTouloncade.

It is also a speciality ofOran,Algeria, where it was introduced underFrench ruleand known ascalentica,and in the cities ofBuenos Aires,Argentina, andMontevideo,Uruguay, where it is known asfaináand eaten withpizza.

History

The origin of the dish is unknown. One legend says it was invented by a group of Roman soldiers who roasted chickpea-flour on a shield.

Names

In standard Italian, the dish is calledfarinata('made of flour'), while inLigurian,specifically in theGenoese dialect,it goes by the name offainâ(Ligurian:[fajˈnaː]); in Massa and in Carrara it is calledcalda calda(lit. 'hot hot'), inTuscanycecina( "made of chickpeas" ) ortorta di ceci(lit. 'chickpea pie'), and inSardiniafainé.

In Nice and theAlpes-Maritimesit is calledsocca,and in theVar,especially in Toulon, it is known ascade,fromOccitanpascade,as it was traditionnaly served during Easter (Pascasin Occitan).

InArgentinaandUruguayit is massively popular and is calledfainá.

Cooking method

Farinatais made by stirringchickpea flourinto a mixture of water andolive oilto form a loosebatter,pouring it into a pan to make a pancake typically 4 mm thick, and cooking it for a few minutes, traditionally in an open oven in a tin-plated copper baking-pan. It may be seasoned with freshrosemary,pepperandsea salt.Traditionallyfarinatais cut into irregularly shaped triangular slices, and eaten (with no toppings) on small plates with optional black pepper. Elsewhere in Italy – traditionally in Tuscany, where it is calledcecina(from the Italian word for 'chickpea',ceci) – it is served stuffed into smallfocaccia(mainly inPisa) or between two slices of bread, as it is traditional inLivorno.It is sold in pizzerias and bakeries.

French variations

Soccaof Nice, also known asLa Cadein Toulon

Socca,just coming out of the oven, in the old town of Nice, on the French Riviera

Slices ofsoccaat a Nice market

• Soccais also a specialty of southeastern French cuisine, particularly in and around the city ofNice,and is practically the same as farinata, some say the texture is a bit different. It may be baked on a tinned copper plate more than a meter in diameter.
• AroundToulonandMarseille,it is also possible to find it under the namecade.This version is thicker with a crunchy surface.
• Panisseis a specialty of Marseille, and is a similar dish, but thicker, and is typically cut into circles and fried.

Elsewhere

InAlgeria,karantikais a similar dish which is very popular. It is served hot and dressed withcuminandharissa.

InArgentinaandUruguay(where many thousands of Ligurian people emigrated between the 19th and the 20th centuries) farinata is known asfainá,similar to the originalGenoesenamefainâ.It is often eaten on top of pizza (a caballo).

In Uruguay,el fainá(calledla faináin Argentina) is considered a traditional Uruguayan dish, brought by immigrants in 1915, so much so that 27 August has been called "Fainá Day".Faináis optionally servedde orilloordel medio,which means from the border and from the center, because slightly irregular baking is made from to themeniscusof the liquid dough, making it thicker at the center, resulting different textures, more creamy or more crispy akin to the choice.

InGibraltar,it is known ascalentitawhen it is baked orpanissawhen it is fried. They are typically eaten plain, without any toppings. These are considered to be Gibraltar's national dishes.

See also

• Cuisine of Liguria
• Cuisine of Provence
• List of pancakes
• Argentine pizza