Farinata frittata turns farinata into a main course

This version featured sturdy greens and Greek sausage.

 

Even though I posted in January 2018 I thought I'd found the ultimate farinata technique, I've continued to experiment over the last few years, and have had my share of successes and "meh"s.  One day, though, I thought, "why not turn this from an appetizer into a main course", and merge the concept of farinata and frittata.  You'll find the basic technique here to be the same as for ultimate farinata, except with more batter, a couple of eggs, and lots more mix-ins.

 The result is a savory/eggy meal that stands on its own, and can be as boldly flavored as you like!

Farinata Frittata

The Basic Building Blocks

• 1.5 cups flour (usually 1 cup chickpea flour (besan) and ½ cup cornmeal, semolina, or something else that’s gluten free or low gluten)

• 2 cups water

• 1.5 tsp salt

• 2 eggs

• 1 onion, small or large

• 8 glugs of olive (or other) oil

Flavoring Add ins (optional, as many or few as desired):

• 1 tsp onion or garlic powder, or both

• ¼ c nutritional yeast

• 1 - 2 tsp seeds:  cumin or fennel

• 1 tsp harissa

• 1 tsp anchovy paste, or jarred anchovies

• Turmeric

• Kashmiri chili

Vegetables (and meat) examples:

• 2 cups kale, chopped

• Mushrooms, fresh or frozen and/or dried (rehydrated)

• Tomatoes, 

• Fennel, chopped

• Carrots

• Sausage or ground meat

• Cubed boneless/skinless chicken thigh

• Bacon

• Cheese

• You get the idea

Method:

1. Mix the flour, water, and salt in a bowl, and let sit for at least an hour (if you can) or all day.  This lets the flour hydrate.

2. Preheat oven to hot (say, 475 degrees on convection), with cast iron skillet, oil, and onions.  Heat until onions are sizzling and brown, approaching burned, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Add any whole spices (e.g., cumin, fennel) and let them bloom -- 30 seconds to a minute.

4. Add vegetables or meat and cook until mostly cooked through (they'll be cooking more shortly).

5. Mix the egg to the batter, and the swirl the batter into the skillet, making sure all the meat and vegetables are evenly distributed.  Put in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or more, until the batter is set and the farinata frittata starts to pull away from the edges of the skillet.

6. Remove the skillet from the oven and let sit for at least five minutes before cutting into wedges to serve. It's easiest to cut this right in the pan rather than trying to transfer to a cutting board. Be careful, and remember that skillet is HOT!

Not just rice and beans

Here's why I love cooking. Take a simple pile of dried beans and turn them into something sublime. Without a whole lot of muss or fuss.

A few months ago, I took the hint from a few of the blogs I follow to order some heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo. There were so many beans, it was hard to choose, so I went for the starter pack, which had five types. Those beauties you see up there are cranberry beans. They were the start of the inspiration. It was MLK day on Monday, so I was home, and it was sleety and cold, and I was going to be around for awhile, so around noontime, I put a pound of the cranberry beans (about two cups) in with about four cups of water and a half an onion into the slow cooker on high for as long as it was going to take. This is the Rancho Gordo suggested method, which I'd used once before with good success. No soaking, no preplanning, just some beans, water and a half an onion, and a lazy afternoon.

I didn't know what I was going to do with them, but with a pile of cooked beans, there were options.

Click "read more" to continue...

Bean and green saute, with tomatoes and eggs: Start with a pot of beans, part 2

Two containers of wet and wonderful beans from the weekend's cooking.  What to do next?  A new cooking challenge for me this fall has been a foray into the world of CSA -- community supported agriculture.  I signed up with Enterprise Farm this summer, and as a result I get a box of produce each Wednesday, that demands attention, especially as the next Wednesday rolls around, and I haven't eaten everything that won't keep from the previous week.  This week, it was dandelion greens.  More greens.

So I had to use greens.  And, I had bought a big box of field tomatoes from Wilson Farm that were going to be used for slow roasting (stay tuned!!), but I had plenty more to use.  I've discovered only recently how terrific tomatoes are when they're cooked.  Either a lot, like with slow roasting, or just a bit, when added to a saute pan with other things.  Even so-so tomatoes burst into sweetness and complex flavor when cooked. Try it -- you'll see!

Beans, greens, tomatoes.  A good start.  Heat some olive oil, add a smashed clove of garlic and a couple of chopped tomatoes (seeds and all).  Cook for about 10 minutes, until the tomatoes start to reduce in size.  If you cook longer, they'll practically disappear, concentrating the tomato flavor even more, but I was hoping to recognize the tomatoes when was done.  Add the chopped greens and let until they start to wilt, and then add the cooked beans with some of the bean cooking liquid.  Bring to a boil and simmer for as long as you can to meld the flavors.

Looking at all the soupy goodness caused two inspirations.  One, was to serve it over polenta, which works well with anything runny.  And the other was to poach a couple of eggs in the simmering pan, so that they'd ooze out all over when it was time to eat.

Seasoning was a salt, pepper and half teaspoon or so of chili powder.   Mine came from Chimayo New Mexico, but whatever you have, I'm sure will be great.

This beat my expectation.  The taste was great, but the texture was superb.  The runny egg imparted a silky feeling to the whole thing, and a rich flavor to the concoction.  I'll be trying that trick again sometime soon.

See the rest of the series:
Start with a pot of beans
Bean and green saute, with tomatoes and eggs: Start with a pot of beans, Part 2
Bean soup: Start with a pot of beans, Part 3
Into the freezer: Start with a pot of beans, Part 4

And, there's an October blog carnival on -- legumes hosted by Cook Sister inspired by My Legume Love Affair on Well Seasoned Cook.

Start with a pot of beans

It's only fitting to start my new blog by telling the story of a humble pound of beans as they find their way into several dishes over the course of the week, and ending up with the last portion in the freezer, waiting for the appropriate moment.  Legumes are the most basic of foods.  Remember in Genesis when Essau sold his birthright for some lentils?  And in Mark Bittman's  Food Matters the very first recipe is for a Sunday pot of beans.  And, I just bought my first box of heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo.  And, there's an October blog carnival on -- legumes hosted by Cook Sister inspired by My Legume Love Affair on Well Seasoned Cook.  Here's the story of my Sunday pot of beans, made Saturday.

Beans and greens and shrooms

1 lb vaquero beans (from Rancho Gordo), about 2 cups dry, using about 2 cups of the COOKED beans for this recipe, and the rest, for the inspirations over the rest of the week

1/2 onion, chopped

1 large bunch red chard (or whatever greens you desire...I prefer sturdier greens)

1 medium shallot clove, chopped

3 or 4 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 small packet dried mushrooms (about an ounce)

Olive Oil, a tablespoon or so for the beans and another for the greens

Butter, a tablespoon or so

Salt and pepper to taste.

Seasoning, optional.  Such as sesame oil, tamarind paste, smoked paprika, pinch of cayenne.

Cook the beans.  I tried for the first time the Rancho Gordo suggested method, in a crockpot.  Inspect the dried beans for stones and dirt, and rinse.  Add 3-4x the amount of water, and sauteed onion.  Cook on high.  Mine took several hours, but not all day, so be careful.  I was concerned that I'd overcooked the beans because they started to burst open, but once they burst, all that beany taste started melding with the water, which ended up working very nicely for the bean dishes over the course of the week.  They were soft, but not falling apart.  The beans were ready early, but they can sit for awhile.  Actually, I think they benefit from that.  Mine sat for a few hours waiting for dinnertime.

When you start getting hungry for dinner, wash and chop the greens roughly -- a broad chop for the leafy part, and a smaller chop for the stem part so they cook evenly.

Rinse the dried mushrooms in warm water, drain, then cover with boiling water for 15 minutes or more, until the shrooms are tender.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat  the olive oil and butter, then the shallots and garlic, and cook until softened.  Add the greens, and saute until they start to wilt.  About 5 to 10 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cooked beans to the pan, stir and continue cooking.  Add a few tablespoons of the mushroom  liquid as well as the bean liquid, and keep cooking.  Perhaps 10 minutes, until everything is hot.

With some salt and pepper, this is a very tasty dish.  The beans and the mushrooms blend naturally into an earthy, satisfying meal.  I was very happy with my first try with the heirloom beans, too, but use whatever you can find.

You can add some flavoring if you'd like, and I tried a few.  Sesame chili oil was a little overpowering for my taste, but plain toasted sesame oil might be good.  I tried a dab of tamarind paste on a small corner of my plate, and that worked well, but may not be to everyone's taste.  Pimenton is always a good one.

Serve plain, or over rice, or other grain.  You could even add the grain to the saute pan to blend all the flavors.

There was plenty of this dish left over for another meal or two. And, there were plenty of plain, cooked beans leftover for new experiments.  See these recipes:

See the rest of the series:
Start with a pot of beans
Bean and green saute, with tomatoes and eggs: Start with a pot of beans, Part 2
Bean soup: Start with a pot of beans, Part 3
Into the freezer: Start with a pot of beans, Part 4